Through the Veil
by Christine Marquez
Summary: Trouble is brewing in Transylvania and Van Helsing is once again called back, along with Carl, to take care of this evil plot. Can they manage to save the people of Transylvania with some help from unusual new guests? Old enemies, old friends
1. Prologue

Through the Veil

Disclaimer: I don't own Van Helsing, and I'm sure everyone knows it

Summary: Yes, yes, it's been overdone by everyone, I'm sure. But I was really bored and having trouble working on other stuff, and I only have one thing up in Van Helsing. Yah, sorry DJ, but you can't be in this one. Ahem, anyways, this is another group of friends, another world, ETC. Seven friends, Amanda, Darey (Pronounced Dare – E), Stefie, Francis, Justine, Kaelin (Pronounced Kay - Lynne) and Dommy are accidentally brought to Van Helsing's world and need to fix a few problems. Takes place after the movie and will face old enemies, meet old friends, and a have tons of fun. But there won't be any VHOC romances, hint hint :D Oh, and PLEASE review. I can't update if I don't know what you think, lol (Never done one exactly like this). First two chapters are Carl and Van Helsing

Okey, and Sarah, if ya read this, I sort of did formulate the idea after your story, but if you're against it, I'll take it off. I was bored and DJ was telling me to do one with me and friends in it, so Charmed and Underworld didn't fit that idea too well, so here's this! Don't wanna get ya mad, lol

PROLOGUE

"Oh dear, oh dear," Carl said fretfully, racing down the long hall trying hard not to look behind him. His breath quickened when he heard the screech behind him. "Van Helsing!" He cried.

"What was that?" A husky voice replied, seconds later Carl was pulled into a dark room. He gasped in terror, but he quickly realized it was just Van Helsing.

Before he could reply, the screech once again came up.

"She's followed me," Carl squeaked.

Van Helsing frowned, but whipped out two guns and twirled them between his fingers. Then he waited – door slightly ajar. The sound was deceased, and everything was silent. He gently propped the door open and slid out into the greatly lit hall, guns pointed ahead of him. He pressed against the wall and allowed his eyes to wander. The hall was - indeed - empty. He slowly lowered his guns (still cautious) and turned back to the door.

"There isn't anything here," He said to Carl. The other man simply whimpered, and stumbled back inside.

Van Helsing gripped tighter to his gun and then spun around.

"Hello Mr. Van Helsing," The seductive voice whispered in his ear. He turned in another direction, but still there was nothing there.

"Come out, Delia," He called.

"Oh, no, no, no," Were the haunting words that came. "You must find _me_."

"Are you aware of the trouble you've caused?" Van Helsing asked, still looking around for any sign of life.

"Seven dead," Was the reply. "Five injured. That was just this week." Another shrill laughter followed.

"The Vatican orders that I bring you back – turn you to your old self."

"I quite like the way I am."

"A murderer?" Van Helsing countered.

There was that laughter again. "Murderer is such a _serious_ word, messenger."

A woman appeared before Van Helsing. She had long blond locks of hair and illuminatingly blue eyes. She was rather attractive, but most evil women seemed to be. She had ruby lips, and a pale complexion with flushed cheeks. She was dressed in a simple blue skirt, and matching top. On her feet were some high heeled boots. She was smiling deviously, but it wasn't what Van Helsing was focused on. The woman seemed to be reading him like a book.

"Such a tale," She whispered. "Such _history_." She rested her fingers gently on Van Helsing's shoulder. Taking his chance, he fired the gun. Seconds too late, of course. Delia had disappeared and the bullet was now lodged in the wall.

"Damn it!" Van Helsing said.

"You could have killed me," Delia said darkly.

"Van Helsing?" Carl said nervously.

Van Helsing turned back into the room to see Delia with Carl in front of her. She had her arms wrapped around him in a suggestive manner, her head on his chin, whispering things to him. Her long nails bit into his sides, and he cried out. Delia looked up mischievously, her eyes meeting his.

"So much suffer," She said. "Do you wish for more? You call me a murderer, but what are you?"

"I bring your salvation," Van Helsing said, pointing his gun at her once again.

Delia, surprisingly, pushed Carl away, and stood in open fire. She walked forward, hips swaying. "How do you justify the murder of an innocent?"

Van Helsing frowned, not being able to stop his hand from jerking a bit at her accusation. "I don't know what you're talking about." He fired, but Delia simply bent to the side so the bullet went past her.

Delia cackled as she straitened up. "Oh my. How long has it been, now? Three years? Five?"

Van Helsing fired again. _No, I can't let her get to me_, Van Helsing thought angrily.

Delia grabbed van Helsing's guns and threw them behind her before wrapping her fingers around his neck, and pinning him to the wall. "It troubles you, doesn't it, my dear? Here you are – a supposed holy man. And yet you killed her. You've caught my attention, Mr. Van Helsing."

"What makes you think I want it," Van Helsing choked out.

Once again Delia snickered. But then she pressed against him, her lips curling by his ear. "Because I can bring her back."

Van Helsing stiffened with surprise, his dark eyes searching her face for any truth to her words. "That's impossible," He spat.

Delia nuzzled his neck affectionately. "No it isn't, love. I can do it. Of course … there would be a price. You must leave me and my kin."

"No," Van Helsing said sharply.

"There, there. Temper is too high, messenger. You must see reason."

"There is no reason," Van Helsing snapped.

Delia's face contorted with irritation. "Then you will just have to die!" She jerked forward, a roar in her throat, but suddenly froze at the sound of gunshot. Moments later she slumped to the floor, her strange eyes darting wildly around as she struggled to breath. Carl stood not too far away, fingers shaking as they clutched a gun.

"Good work, Carl," Van Helsing gasped, rubbing at his quickly bruising neck. Carl dropped the weapon in fright and stared at the trembling girl. She turned over on her side and pressed her white fingers to her chest wound. She groaned harshly, and once again met Van Helsing's eyes.

"They'll come for you," She snarled. "Nobody – not even the Messenger – gets away with such a crime. They'll come for you, and I'll return. We'll come."

Then her body began to convulse, and not long after she lay lifeless on her floor. The room burst with purple light … and she was gone.

Carl swallowed nervously. "Well … what do you suppose she meant by that?" He asked, voice shaking.

Van Helsing shrugged, his eyes never leaving the vacant spot. "I don't know," He said thoughtfully. "But we're going to have to find out."

AN: … End of Prologue. Yayness! Okay, so you need to REVIEW and let me know what you think. I'll take constructive criticism, if it helps.


	2. Chapter One

AN: THANKS to blah, Fortune Zyne, and HughJackmanFan

And my lips are sealed about my OC's and such, hee hee

Through the Veil

CHAPTER ONE

Van Helsing swung his guns on the table in front of him. Another day, another job done - just the way he liked it. Things were neat, proficient, and simple. With Delia out of the way, he could return to the Vatican and begin his next assignment. That's the way it had always been these past five years. Van Helsing was once again obsessed with his work, perhaps more so this time. He would occasionally pull Carl along with him (the friar needed to get out more, according to Van Helsing). It was usually just him out there, though. He was desperate to be forgiven for his sins – old and new. And, in some ways, he was hopeful that he would meet his match, and lose. Anna's death had left a great impact on him, and a lot of guilt. Mostly because he had thought they may have had something between them. If there had been more time to get to know each other, maybe they could have … It was no use trying to think of maybes now. Since the demoness had brought up Anna again, every memory was resurfacing. Her smile, her tears, her pride. And her dead form. Van Helsing had hidden his feelings well from others. He'd subconsciously hidden them from himself. He'd almost forgotten all about Anna Valerious. Of course the guilt remained. That would never go away. But the guilt for what? He'd strayed away from that time and pushed it back. But now … now it was returning, and with a force.

There was a clatter from the hall, and moments later Carl stumbled into the room. Van Helsing turned around and studied the back of his good friend. The friar was eyeing a rack of swords hung up on the wall.

"Well?" Van Helsing asked, not bothering to mask his irritation.

"The post came a few moments ago. Rome received my report about Delia," Carl said, never turning to look at his friend.

Van Helsing waited a moment more, but when Carl said nothing else, he asked, "Did they send anything in return?"

"Err, yes. Cardinal Jinette says that there's another report coming in. Sounds like the same case in Gaere."

"Oh really?" Van Helsing raised his eyebrow, waiting for more.

"Yes. Strange disappearances, a few days later … gruesome bodies are turning up. They seemed to have been sacrificed."

"Just like with Delia," Van Helsing acknowledged. He walked across the room, in the opposite direction, and studied a map on the wall. "We are probably dealing with the others she mentioned. Where are we heading?"

Carl shifted hesitantly. "Eh, funny thing about that, Van Helsing," he squeaked.

"What's wrong?" Gabriel asked, looking concerned but also annoyed.

"Well … it's about where we're going, actually." Carl twisted his fingers in his hands, unsure about how to put it.

"Carl," Van Helsing said warningly.

"Eep. Okay, umm … we're heading across the ocean."

"And?"

"And … it's a place we've been before."

"Carl! Where are we heading?"

"Transylvania," Carl spat out nervously.

Van Helsing whirled on him, looking him over as silence filled the room. "So," He said slowly. "Transylvania?"

"Anna's town, to be exact," Carl squealed with fright.

Van Helsing blinked several times, before nodding. "Alright. Gather our things together. We shall set out tonight."

"Eh, Van Helsing. Aren't you … what do you make of all this?" Carl asked.

Van Helsing shook his head to clear his thoughts. "There isn't anything to make of it," He finally said, stiffly.

"You don't think that Dracula's returned, do you?"

"Carl."

"I was just asking. Of course, he couldn't possibly come back. Silly me. The dead coming back. Again. Hmm … I shall go pack now," Carl said, backing away.

_I can bring her back_. Right then Delia's words came back to the Hunter. _I can bring her back_. Van Helsing picked up his hat and sat it gently on his head, turning back to the map with a thoughtful expression. It was time to face his past. Maybe more so than he thought possible.


	3. Chapter Two

Through the Veil

CHAPTER TWO

Stefie Carter flopped down at her best friend's desk, before tossing a grin in the opposite direction. Her frizzy wheat-blond hair was pulled back in a ponytail at the base of her neck, her upper body swimming in an oversized carebear's sweatshirt. Her lower body swallowed by light blue cargo pants, white bunny slippers on her feet … which she wore everywhere and were dirty and ragged with overuse. No body was really surprised to even notice the slippers, seeing as how obsessed Stefie was with bunnies. Darey Ames crossed her arms over her chest and smirked.

"No," She said, her dark brown eyes laughing in her friend's direction. Darey had short and curly black hair, falling to the base of her neck, and slightly tanned skin. She was in her typical 'Darey' stance, arms over chest, legs spread apart; foot tapping against the rough carpeting. She was dressed in a dark green tee with a picture of a blue dragon snaked across the center, and black bell bottoms. She had a lightly tanned complexion. She could be strict when she needed to be, but she was – along with Stefie – the comic relief in the group. She was very sarcastic, where Stefie was just very blond.

"Oh, come on," Stefie pleaded. Her face squished up to look pitiful.

"No way," Justine Preston agreed, her face sparkling with delight. Her dark blond hair was pulled back in its usual ponytail, wearing simple blue jeans rolled up at the bottoms along with a brown belt, and a yellow and orange tee shirt attached to a light orange long sleeved shirt beneath it. She glanced to Amanda Bahrens, who looked over at Francis Beaton, who looked purely bored. Justine could get along with anyone, and never held a grudge. She was ridiculously nice and very open minded.

"What do you say, Francis?" Amanda asked, looking him over. He simply shrugged.

"Doesn't matter," He grumbled. He had curly blond hair which he had unfortunately cut rather short recently. He was wearing dark green canvas pants, and a matching green jacket over a black tee shirt. He looked very much like an army commander at the moment, except for his slouch and grimace. Francis could be very moody, and you would often find him brooding. But, he was an _excellent_ hacker when it came down to it. It wasn't as if he hacked into secret government programs or anything. He was more of an … artist. He spent most of his time drawing, and sometimes over riding parental blocks in the school computer lab so he could check out the sites he wanted … nothing dirty, mind you.

"I just got here," Amanda put in, turning back to Stefie. "Sorry."

"Yeah, yeah," Stefie said. She tapped her fingers across the desk, staring down at Darey's papers. "So if you don't want to go out to eat, what do you want to do?"

"_I_ want to get my homework done. I ran out of time in study hall," Justine informed them.

"Why didn't you do it at home?" Francis said.

"Because I left my backpack in school, and I figured Darey had her book," Justine fired back.

Stefie looked at her with confusion. "Well why don't you just do it before class starts."

"That's you're answer for everything," Amanda said with a frown. Her oak brown hair was pulled back in its usual sloppy bun, her long bangs framing the side of her face. She was dressed in blue draw string workout pants with three white stripes up the side, and a blue tank top under a white button shirt rolled up to the elbows. She was the palest of the group, but it suited her. She was the discipline in the group, which really annoyed everyone. Once at a football game, they ended up cutting through the school to get to the parking lot, and the whole time she was freaking out about how they were going to get in trouble.

"No it isn't," Stefie protested, pulling another famous 'Stefie pout'. Sometimes, she just acted too much like a little kid.

"How about we watch a movie," Darey suggested in an attempt to get off the subject of homework. She herself had an essay due the next day. "Manda brought Van Helsing."

The mentioned shifted nervously on the floor. "Oops," she said, drawing the word out. "I left it at home."

"That's alright. I've already seen it," Francis reminded them.

"Me too," Stefie admitted.

"Well I haven't," Justine said, sitting up. "Who's in it?"

"Hugh Jackman, Kate Beckinsale, and a whole cast of people I don't know!" Darey told her.

"I think somebody named Steve's in it. Maybe Richard," Amanda said thoughtfully.

Stefie snickered. "How observant you are," She said.

"She's probably thinking of Richard Roxburgh and Stephen Sommers," Darey said with a laugh.

"Okay," Justine said. "I have no clue who those people are."

"We could go back to your house, Manda," Francis said, looking to his friend.

"I just got here!" Amanda snapped with irritation.

"No, no. Your house _is_ just down the street. We could run down, and then run back," Justine pointed out logically.

"What we? If anyone goes, it _won't_ be you guys," Amanda told them.

"Come on. When was the last time you even _invited_ us to your house?" Justine said.

"I invited you to my birthday party. You guys are coming over on Tuesday, remember. Besides, the house is a pig sty, and Aaron has John over. They've probably destroyed all the work I _did_ get done," Amanda said distastefully.

"Isn't John the weird kid who flips out at the smell of mushroom soup?" Francis asked curiously.

Both Darey and Justine started cracking up laughing. "You mean Josie's little brother?"

"One in the same. So you see my point, though?" Amanda asked. "Not to mention Kaelin's over. I don't know about you, but I've walked in on one too many make out sessions."

"Oh come on. You and I both know all they do is kiss. DJ is like a puritan," Justine said.

"And Kaelin might as well be a Satanist. Guess opposites _do_ attract," Amanda agreed. Then sighed. "I guess I'll be right back."

"Hey, I'm coming too!" Stefie exclaimed, jumping from the desk.

"Well if Stefie's coming –," Darey started.

"No!" Amanda said. "When I said no one's coming, I meant it."

"We'll ignore any mess there is," Justine said, pulling on her coat. "Besides, I wanna see Aaron again. He's so cute!"

"You've never seen him throw a tantrum," Amanda muttered under her breath. Then she nodded her consent. "Alright. But we're only staying a minute."

"Yes!" Justine exclaimed, throwing her fists into the air.

"Let me get my boots," Darey said.

"Fine, but hurry up. The sooner we go, the sooner we get back."

AN: Alright, I did my part of the bargain. A chapter out for you, so reviews for me, got it? LOL. Oh, just so you know, I usually update every Saturday, unless I'm crowded with something. So if this gets good reviews, it WILL be UPDATED REGULARLY, got it? I may update throughout the week if you're really good. There should also (hopefully) be two chapters each time I update, as well, kay?

So, you've been introduced to most of my characters. Dommy and Kaelin will be in the next chapter, hee hee. Oh, and I might UPDATE throughout the week, since I have major time off. Just make sure you review. It influences me.


	4. Chapter Three

AN: Thanks to Aradia-Hornbeam, and HughJackmanFan. :D

HughJackmanFan: What's so funny about the names? Just curious

Through the Veil

CHAPTER THREE

Amanda turned the doorknob, and then peeked inside, her friends huddled behind her. "Coast is clear," She said, straitening up and pushing the purple door away. She stepped into the kitchen with relief. The others filed in quickly behind her.

"I'm going to your room," Justine announced, walking around her friend.

"You don't even know where my room is," Amanda protested.

"Not true. I saw you go in there on Halloween when we were waiting for the others," Justine replied. She walked into the foyer and turned down the hallway where the bedrooms were.

"Wait for me!" Stefie called excitedly, racing behind Justine.

Francis shifted nervously, glancing back at Amanda, who was now giving him the evil eye. "I suppose that means if I go in there, you'll skin me alive?" he asked.

Amanda nodded, and Darey smirked. "Oh, she just doesn't want you to see her childish room," She said with a laugh. Francis quickly joined in, while Amanda paled.

"How'd you know about that?" She asked seriously. "You've never been in my room before."

"You mean your room really _is_ decorated like a little kid's?" Francis asked, his eyes lighting up with interest.

"Shut up," Amanda grumbled. Francis started into the foyer. "Where are _you_ going?"

"Argh. I'm off to yer room, me matey. Off to claim me buried treasure of laughs." Then he too disappeared into Amanda's room. Sighing, she turned to Darey. "You see why you guys are never invited over?"

"I'm beginning to," Darey replied. "You go get the movie, and I'll round up the troops."

"Kay."

The two split up, Darey following Francis, and Amanda crossing over to the DVD towers. She searched through all the videos they had, before finally finding 'Van Helsing'. Now she could get her friend's together, leave, and no one would be the wiser. She'd suffer some teasing at her bedroom's expense, but all in all everything was safe. She stood with relief and started for the hallway when a door burst open, and strange sobs filled the room. Shoulders slumped; Amanda looked up to see the recession of DJ, Josh, and Kailyn (pronounced Kay-Lynne, just like Kaelin, but they are two different people), her brothers and sister. Someone shouted after them 'don't come back' before the door slammed shut. Kailyn was watching DJ with irritation, and Josh was whispering comforting words in his twin's ear.

"Hi Amanda," Kailyn said glumly as she walked past. Amanda turned and watched as Kailyn took a seat at the computer chair, and DJ stood in the center of the room, Josh looking at him sympathetically.

"What's with the water works?" Amanda asked; her hands uncertainly at her sides.

"Kaelin broke up with DJ," Kailyn said, being the first to speak. Those five words caused DJ to cry harder.

"And?" Amanda asked.

"And now he's utterly devastated, so he won't stop crying. Aaron, John, and Dommy just kicked us out of the back room because DJ was too annoying. Tell him to stop, Manda," Kailyn whined.

Amanda ignored her, and leaned over to try and get a better look at DJ without moving from her spot. "Kaelin broke up with you?"

DJ nodded his head pitifully. Amanda straitened up thoughtfully, and then smiled. "It's about time. You don't have any idea how hard I've been trying to break you up!"

Josh glared at her. "Don't be an ass," He said.

"Fine, fine. So why did she break up with you?" Amanda asked.

"She said he was too much of a wuss for her, and she was sick of it," Kailyn said as if it were nothing but a piece of hot news.

"If the shoe fits," Amanda said.

"I'm warning you," Josh snapped.

"Oh come on. You said it yourself that – Argh!" She ducked out of the way as Josh's foot came plummeting towards her. He turned at the last minute, his heal catching her arm. "Oww. What did you do that for?"

"Come on DJ, stand up for yourself," Josh instructed, looking back at his broken brother.

DJ simply slumped into a seat and hid his face.

Amanda grimaced, and then caught sight of a fist heading towards her. She managed to get out of the way this time - bending over and then rushing forward and catching Josh in the middle. She slammed her head into his chest and tackled him onto the couch.

Josh grunted, and then took a clump full of hair and pulled it back. Amanda cried out, and then took a hold of Josh's brown locks. "Let go!" She snapped.

Josh jerked harder, and then let go before smacking her arm away from him. She jumped back, ignoring the cries from Kailyn to stop, and the doors slamming as her friends came into the room. Josh jumped back up furiously, and started for her. Amanda took stance, and then threw her arm – fingers out instead of fisted – and rammed her palm into his breast. He tumbled back again, gasping for breath. Amanda jumped back when she saw the evil look in his eye.

"Oh no!" She cried, racing away. But Josh locked his arm around her hip and pulled her closer. The two fell to the floor, and began trading swaps.

"Hey, hey!" Darey exclaimed. She motioned to Stefie and Francis to separate the brawl, since they took karate. The two exchanged a look, and then rushed forward, pulling the siblings apart. Josh relaxed into Stefie's arm, wiping at his bleeding lip while shooting dark looks at Amanda. She was barely being contained by Francis as she squirmed, kicking out in hopes of getting at her brother.

"Enough!" Darey cried. "Don't tell me this is another fight over the vacuum cleaner."

Amanda narrowed her eyes at Josh, and let out a low growl. "Cut that!" Francis said, glancing down at the top of Amanda's head.

Josh pulled out of Stefie's arms, and then turned around to go back to comforting DJ. Seeing his retreat, Amanda yanked away from Francis, and stepped to the side, aching arms crossed over her chest.

"Actually, it was Manda and DJ who got in the argument over the vacuum," Kailyn stated. Amanda threw her a dark look, and then walked to the side to pick up the DVD which had been tossed to the side when the fight began.

"What's this all about?" Justine asked curiously.

"Don't ask," Amanda said. "Come on."

"Where are you going?" Kailyn asked.

"Get me the phone," Amanda replied. She looked at DJ, true sympathy on her face. "I'll fix this mess. If anyone can get through to Kaelin, it's me."

"You couldn't get her to quite smo," Kailyn started. Amanda dashed over, and put her fingers around her sister's mouth.

"You're just full of talk today, aren't you?" She asked. Kailyn nodded her head, and Amanda let go. She picked up the portable phone and walked into her room. Justine, Darey, Francis, and Stefie followed quickly behind her, anxious to hear the whole story of what had happened.

It isn't too important, but for imagination purposes, we'll describe Miss Bahrens 'childish' bedroom. The upper half of the room of the walls were painted a bright yellow blended with orange to make a sun like appearance. The bottom half was painted dark blue – remnants from the time when the room had belonged to Josh and DJ. The only things on the wall were a cork board, a shelf filled with figurines, plush pumpkins, and teddy bears, and three sheets of paper with lyrics on them. The window was covered by a single golden curtain, which blocked out a lot of light. There was a desk, a vanity and a tiny bookshelf. In the doorless closet was a trunk covered with silly stuffed cats and beanie babies. In front of the trunk was a pink bucket full of purses and papers. Next to it was an old Spice Girls backpack she'd gotten back in fifth grade, and couldn't bring herself to throw out. Resting on her bed was a stuffed gizmo doll from the movie 'Gremlins' which her father had won out of the claw machine on a trip down to Buffalo. A bunch of clothes were stuffed in the spot under the desk where the chair belonged. The chair itself was next to the vanity, loaded with clean clothes that needed to be put away.

Justine picked up the Spice Girls backpack and looked it over, a small smile playing on her lips. She looked up to Amanda. "Remember in Fourth grade when we did that dance routine for Father's Day?" She asked. Justine and Amanda had once been the world's best friends. Then in seventh grade, someone who didn't want them to be friend's anymore spread a rumor to Amanda, and she refused to talk to Justine. They just started talking about a year ago.

Amanda smirked. "Yeppers. My Dad was so pissed off that I went to your house on Father's Day."

"Yeah, and then everyone started laughing at us because the routine was so bad," Justine said with a giggle.

"You know, it's really creepy when you two do that," Francis acknowledged.

"What about when we played house with our dolls? You would be Baby Spice and I would be Posh Spice - we were each married to a member of the Backstreet Boys?" Manda said with a grin.

"Over sharing," Francis said, looking with mock fear at Amanda.

"Backstreet Boys?" Stefie asked in confusion. Darey started laughing.

"I remember Justine mentioning that," She said.

Amanda took the backpack from Justine, and set it on the floor, before once again picking up the phone. "Keep it down a moment, will you? I'm going to call Kaelin."

"Oh boy," Stefie said.

Amanda waited a moment as the ringing filled her ears, and then someone picked up.

"Yeah, Amanda?" She asked.

"I hate caller ID," Amanda said conversationally into the phone.

There was a sigh at the other end. "Why are you calling?"

"Would you mind coming up for a bit? Francis and Justine are over."

"Francis is at your house? Your parents said it was okay to have a boy in the house?" Kaelin's voice was filled with slight amusement.

"Are you coming up, or not?"

"… Is DJ there?"

"I think he and Josh walked over to the Elementary School. Took Kailyn with them."

"Really? I'm shocked they can tolerate her."

"Kaelin."

"Right, right. Yeah, I'll be up in a minute, but I can't stay for too long, you know."

"Okay. See you soon. Oh, I'm in my room." Amanda hung up, and looked at her friends. "Sometimes I wonder why I'm friend's with that girl."

"So what happened?" Darey asked.

"Kaelin broke up with DJ, and DJ's really upset about it," Amanda replied.

"So how did you and Josh get into a fight?" Justine inquired.

"Eh, I said some things to DJ about how I was glad they had broken up and stuff. Josh took it upon himself to start a fight with me. He started it though, honest," Amanda said.

"Is that the story you want to stick to?" Said Darey.

"Don't be a wise guy. That's what happened. Anyways, I'm calling Kaelin over to have an intersection," She said.

Stefie blinked. "You mean intervention?"

Amanda lifted her hand, mouth open and ready to say something in return, but changed her mind, waved her arm, and said, "Whatever."

"But you told Kaelin DJ and Josh were gone."

"I'm working on it!" Amanda said with irritation. She stomped over to the door, and pulled it open, stopping short to spin on Francis. "Don't you touch my gizmo," She growled. Francis quickly dropped the stuffed animal - which he had doing the can-can on air - and hid his arms behind his back, whistling innocently. Amanda narrowed her eyes and then poked her head out the door.

"Eh, if you want me to fix things, then you better go hide out in the sun porch for now," She advised to the three out there.

"Why?" Josh snarled.

Amanda rolled her eyes and said, "Because Kaelin's on her way over, and if she _sees_ you, I won't stand a chance at trying to get her to change her mind."

Josh considered it, and looked to Derek who had stood and was walking quickly to the door. "Spose that's a yes," He murmured. Getting up, he quickly followed after DJ. Kailyn frowned.

"Wait guys. I don't wanna get stuck with Kaelin," She said. She jumped out of her seat and followed after them.

Amanda waited until she heard the sun porch door close, before she snaked back into her room and closed the door softly behind her. "Well, I'm about to do my good deed for the day."

"Then we can head back to Darey's and watch the movie, right?" Stefie asked hopefully.

"I hope so," Amanda replied.

"So explain to me the whole point of this movie."

"Don't bother," Said a voice from the door way. Amanda turned to see Kaelin leaning against the door frame, arms crossed over her chest. She was wearing a black leather jacket over a white penny shirt, and beige pants. Her strait dark brown hair was pulled back in a ponytail, a silver band drooping at her forehead and tangled into her hair at the sides. Her dark blue eyes rimmed with thick black mascara turned to eye Stefie and Darey carefully. She was rather tall, and skinny as hell.

"I thought you said it was just you, Justine, and Francis," She said darkly.

"Hello, Kaelin," Amanda said with a sigh. Kaelin had always been a little wild, but lately she'd gone from hanging over the edge to smacking the ground and continuing through to the core – and then some. Yes, Kaelin had gone through some stuff at home, but it didn't mean she had to become a completely different person. Sometimes, Amanda couldn't figure out how they were still friends … good friends at that.

Kaelin turned her penetrating gaze to Amanda. "Care to share?"

"Come in, take a seat," Stefie said with a warm smile.

If possible, Kaelin's face became more sinister. "I think I'll stand," She said.

Darey swallowed, and exchanged a nervous glance with Francis. This was _definitely_ _not_ the girl she remembered trick 'or' treating with last Halloween.

Amanda cleared her throat. "Eh, I heard about what happened."

Kaelin rolled her eyes before stepping into the room and closing the door behind her. "Look, things just weren't working out between us." She stopped, and then looked at Amanda with confusion. "What's with the black eye?"

"Black eye?" Amanda asked frightfully. She ran to the vanity and studied her face. Sure enough, a dark ring was forming around her left eye. There were also several bruises forming on her neck. Not to mention her hair was in a mess. She groaned, and then quickly pulled a brush through her hair and fixed her bun. Then she started searching through her make up for something to cover up her wounds. As pathetic as it was, Amanda cared very much about her appearance.

Kaelin hid a smirk, and then marched over to her friend. She took her by the shoulder and turned her to face her. Shaking her head, she said, "You'll never get that done by yourself." Amanda managed a wry smile. "Josh get at you?"

"Something like that," Amanda replied. "They're in the sun porch, you know."

"I know," Kaelin confirmed. She picked up some cover up and looked thoughtful. "We should probably clean that cut on your eyebrow."

"It's bleeding again?" Justine asked, stepping closer.

"Josh must have bumped it," Amanda replied, gently feeling the small cut she had over looked.

"How'd you get that one?" Darey asked with interest.

"The fight over the vacuum cleaner," Amanda and Kaelin said at the same time. Both started laughing.

"Why'd you break up with DJ?" Stefie asked.

Kaelin, surprisingly, got a very dreamy look on her face. "Ray asked me out," She said.

Francis raised his eyebrows. "Ray? As in Ray Louchello?" He asked.

"As in major drug distributor for the ninth grade," Amanda grumbled angrily.

Kaelin only frowned. "He only did it twice," She said, rolling her eyes.

"He was only _caught_ twice," Amanda corrected. "You and I both know he does it more than he gets in trouble for."

"So you dumped DJ – sweet, kind DJ – for Ray Louchello, whose reputation is for keeping more girls than one? Is that really the kind of guy you want to date?" Justine demanded.

"If you like DJ so much, you go out with him," Kaelin fired back. Then she smiled. "Besides, I'm sure I could tame Ray."

"Nobody tames Ray, Kaelin. Ray tames _you_," Amanda said, swatting Kaelin's arm away so now only half the ring about her eye was covered. "I don't need your help."

"_Fine_," Kaelin said. "It was so stupid of me to come here. I should have known I wouldn't get any support from you."

"You expect me to _support_ this decision? Are you crazy?"

"Amanda's right," Francis said. Then he swallowed hard when Kaelin spun furiously on him.

"Ray Louchello is bad news," Stefie admitted.

Kaelin cocked her head to the side with a huff of amused breath. "Maybe that's what I want."

"Oh for crying out loud. I was right when I said DJ was better off without you, Kaelin. Go on, leave," Amanda commanded.

"Fine!" Kaelin snapped, turning and in quick strides arriving at the door. Before she could pull it open, though, Darey jumped up, knocking into Francis and causing him to stumble into Kaelin so that she hit her head against the wall.

"Ahh!" She exclaimed in pain. She held her head shooting glares at Francis.

"Sorry," He said. He turned to look at Darey, who was now staring ahead. "Darey?"

Darey moved forward, and Amanda quickly backed to the side. She followed Darey's gaze to the window, which now seemed to have a shimmering gossamer curtain over it.

"What the _hell_ is that?" Kaelin asked, moving forward, her aching head now forgotten.

"It's normal, isn't it?" Justine asked, looking from Amanda to Kaelin. "I mean, its part of the window?"

A glimmer of light rippled through the strange material. Justine stumbled backwards. "Or not," She said, fear rising in her throat.

"That's … so … _cool_!" Stefie exclaimed. She got out of her chair and stood in front of the strange curtain. Then she ran her hand through the lively material, and was amazed to see it passed through.

"You shouldn't do that, Stefie," Amanda said nervously.

Stefie looked back at them with a grin, and then stepped through.

"No!" Came five sets of voices. Darey rushed to the strange thing and leaned in. Seconds later she was pulled forward.

"Darey!" Francis cried out.

"We need to get them back," Amanda said, authority in her voice. She moved forward, and tried to see through the strange material, but it was useless. There was no way of seeing through, and it was still rippling with Darey's sudden departure. She gently pushed her hand against it, and was awed by the mild feeling of gentle cold caresses that wrapped around her finger tips.

"Don't touch that thing," Kaelin snapped. She stumbled over and grabbed onto Amanda's shirt. "Get away from it!"

Just as Amanda was about to pull back, someone – or something - gripped her hand and began to tug. Amanda shrieked in surprise before she found herself being pulled through the frightening vortex, Kaelin being pulled with her.

Francis started forward, but Justine quickly gripped onto his arm. "What are you doing?" She demanded.

"Stefie's in there! Along with our friends. We have to go," He said.

"Are you _kidding _me? You don't know what's in there!"

"Well there's one way to find out, and I intend to," Francis snapped. He pulled out of Justine's grip, and ran through the fabric. It rippled again, and Justine looked around the now empty room. She let out a small whimper, and then murmured to herself, "I _know_ I'm going to regret this later." Then she dashed through the vortex.

The thing flickered, almost impatiently. It was as if it were waiting …

The bedroom door creaked open. "Hey Amanda, DJ said you were -." Dommy Bahrens stopped, and stared at the strange thing which had now spread across the wall. What had once seemed like simple fabric was now leaping with life. Dommy's jaw dropped, as he brushed a hand through his light brown hair thoughtfully. Then he closed the door softly behind him, and approached the strange thing. He looked around it, leaning closer. "Manda? Are you in there?"

There was no response. He sat back on his heels with a troubled expression, when white tendrils shot out and wrapped themselves around the collar of his shirt, as if they were fingers. Dommy let out a surprised gasp, and then was lifted off his feet and flying into the portal. As soon as his shoes disappeared from sight, the portal closed in on itself and the room was once again – permanently this time – empty.

AN: Wow, ten pages on word document. And don't worry, you'll get a better introduction of Dommy in the next chapter. As for Van Helsing, he's coming. Either the next chapter as well, or the one after it. PLEASE REVIEW!


	5. Chapter Four

Through the Veil

CHAPTER FOUR

Kaelin suddenly sat up with a gasp. She choked a bit as she tried to get some air into her lungs, and then realized she had been lying on hard ground. When she was relaxed enough, she looked around her to see that the others were sitting up now, everyone doing as she had. It took a moment for her brain to register that they were in a graveyard … a graveyard at night, to be exact. When that came in, she scrambled to her feet and began screaming at the top of her lungs.

As soon as that noise hit Amanda's ears, she, too, realized where they were and started screeching. She jumped up as fear gripped her, and stumbled backwards. Someone grabbed her arms, and she jumped before screaming louder.

"They've got me!" She exclaimed.

"Manda, it's me," Francis said.

Stefie and Darey stood up, looking around the place dully, as if they had seen better – which they probably had.

Justine followed suit, hugging herself to keep the willies away. Kaelin had stopped screaming, but was now watching Amanda's panic attack. She was literally hyperventilating. Her breath – whenever it managed to arrive – came in short gasping pants, and she was holding tight to Francis' arms, trying to climb on top of him, as if that would do her any good. When Francis managed to get a grip on her, she pulled away and started for Darey and Stefie, begging for someone to get her out of there. Rolling his eyes, Francis stepped up and wrapped his hand over her mouth so she could try to relax. It didn't help too much, though, because she made a fist, and slammed it into his knee cap.

"Holy shizzle!" Francis cried, holding to his injury as he collapsed to the ground. Amanda backed away until she hit a grave stone, which sent her off in another fit of hysterics.

Kaelin rubbed at her eyes uneasily, and then whacked Amanda on the back of the head – not too hard, of course. The girl stumbled, but quickly caught herself. She turned to glower at her friend, but seemed to be relaxing. "I'm (hiccup) fine," She said. Then the hiccups started. One after another escaped from Amanda's lips.

"Manda!" A childish – but all too familiar – voice said from behind. Amanda jumped, and then looked at her younger brother. All eyes widened in surprise to see Dominick Christian Bahrens standing before them. The eleven year old had semi-longish light brown hair falling gently above his traditional Bahrens' blue eyes. All the males in the Bahrens family seemed to have blue eyes, which they inherited from their father. The girls received their mothers' green eyes. Dommy was wearing a long sleeved grey sweater and black slacks. He tossed his head back to get his hair out his face, and then smiled with confusion at his big sister.

"You got rid of the hiccups!" She exclaimed, pulling her brother into a hug.

"Augh! Demon germs!" Dommy exclaimed.

Darey raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you supposed to ask him how he got here?" She asked.

"Right." Amanda set Dommy back on the ground, and looked at him sternly. "How did you get here?" She asked.

"That thing in your room pulled me in!" Dommy exclaimed. Amanda brushed his hair away from his eyes and pursed her lips.

"Honey, have you been hallucinating?" She asked him seriously.

"Amanda!" Kaelin exclaimed.

"It was worth a shot," Amanda said. She straitened up, and looked Dommy over thoughtfully. "So … that thing's still in my room? How long have we been gone?"

"You were only gone about a minute," Dommy said. "Then I came in and was pulled into that thing."

"You didn't go near it?" Amanda asked him.

For a moment, a look of panic crossed the boy's features, but then it was gone. "No," He said. "I was standing at the door and it just … pulled me in."

Amanda looked back at her friends. "Looks to me like we have a liar on our hands," She told them.

"I'm not lyin'!" Dommy snapped.

Darey's eyes widened nervously. "Okay, okay, just keep it down. We better get out of here," She said.

"Where are we going to go?" Kaelin asked doubtfully. "We don't even know where we are."

Amanda took Dommy's hand and squeezed it reassuringly. "Darey's right," She agreed. "Wherever we are, I'm sure the people heard the screaming."

"Wouldn't that be a good thing?" Justine reasoned. "I mean, then we'll get an estimated guess as to where we are."

"Justine's right. I think it's a good idea to stick around," Francis said.

"I second that."

Everyone stopped, Amanda's face squished in confusion. "Umm … I know _I_ didn't say that."

"Because I did."

"Yeah, he did!"

Kaelin's eyes darted around the graveyard, before she realized everyone was staring at her. Filled a bit with panic, she turned around. When she saw what was there, she screeched and stumbled back, catching up with the others. "Who are you?" She demanded.

The man frowned, before looking back at the other people around him. "Close in," He commanded the group, filled with people dressed in old fashioned clothes carrying torches, and a few pitchforks and such. Soon, the seven friends were surrounded. Dommy bent over and picked up a stick, directing it at the nearest villager. Justine whimpered, very much unsure of how to react.

Amanda, on the other hand, was frowning with thought. "Why does this seem so familiar?" She asked out loud, already knowing the answer.

"Van Helsing ring a bell?" Stefie and Francis said at the same time. They looked at each other in surprise.

"Of course, Van Helsing," Amanda said nervously.

The man who seemed to be in charge of everything stepped forward into the light, which revealed him to be not a very old man at all. He had to have been at least twenty, but younger than twenty two, which left the only idea that he was probably twenty one. He had curly black hair, and a small bit of five 'o' clock shadow. His piercing golden eyes were searching the group with suspicion.

"Talk about tall dark and handsome," Justine said in an attempt to lighten the dark mood that had fallen over the group.

"You know Van Helsing?" The man asked.

"The movie?" Justine asked with confusion.

"Uhh, something tells me he isn't talking about the movie," Darey put in.

"Are you friend's of the great Van Helsing, or enemies?" The man demanded in a loud voice.

Francis swallowed. "Maybe following you guys wasn't such a good idea," He said.

"Wuss," Dommy muttered, looking at the older boy.

Amanda stepped forward, dragging her little brother with her. "Wait a minute. Are you trying to tell me you think Van Helsing's real?" She asked.

Stefie stepped forward, and whispered to Amanda, "Okay, weird portal, graveyard, people dressed in 1800's clothing carrying torches and pitchforks – menacingly, mind you – and you doubt we're in Van Helsing?"

"Oh no," Amanda told her. "This sort of thing only happens in … in fan fiction!"

"Answer me!" The man bellowed.

Everyone jumped a little. Amanda turned to Stefie. "Uhh … do you consider yourself a friend?" She asked.

"More of a fan," Stefie replied with a shrug.

"Of course." Amanda looked back at her other friends. "And you guys?"

"Don't know him."

"He's too much of a goody guy."

"No, Francis, you're thinking of Hugh Jackman."

"You mean the funny guy with the hat?"

"Isn't he a fictional character?"

Grimacing, Amanda turned back to the leader. "We've _heard_ of him," She said.

Kaelin looked thoughtful. "Uhh … sir? Could you maybe tell us where we are?"

"First you need to disarm yourselves," The man instructed.

"Disarm? You heard him, Kaelin, get rid of your cigarettes," Amanda said.

"Kaelin smokes?" Dommy asked, looking with disgust at the older girl. She simply glared at him.

Darey rolled her eyes and then stepped up. "Look, sir, we don't bear any arms. We aren't here to threaten you. We're just curious as to where we are."

"Why was the boy screaming?" The man asked, looking at Francis. The teenager stood strait and alert with surprise.

"What? You think _I_ screamed?" He asked.

"Of course. Does he not seem like the type of boy who would scream like a woman?" The man asked.

The others snickered.

"Hey! I resent that!" Francis exclaimed, but stayed where he was standing instead of fighting.

"Wuss," Dommy repeated, louder this time. A roar of laughter rippled through the group encircling them.

The man stopped forward, and searched Amanda. "It must have been the young woman here, then. The one with the child."

Amanda blinked. "How'd you know?" She asked.

The man gestured to her face. "You were attacked. Tell me, what direction did the beast go in?"

"Beast? Geeze, Josh is a little temperamental, but I wouldn't call him a _beast_," Stefie said.

"I think they mean the creature that attacked you," Darey replied, looking pointedly at Amanda.

"They think Josh is a creature? Do they even know him?" Stefie asked.

"Stef, just give up before you get yourself confused," Francis advised.

"Too late," Stefie replied.

"I think you have it all wrong," Dommy said. "My brother punched her in the face because _that_ girl over there broke up with my brother. My other brother." He looked back at Kaelin, who was now trying to hide her face.

"Dommy, don't speak. It makes you look stupid," Amanda instructed. "Darey, do something!"

"Why is it always me? Oh alright. You see, sir, my friend here was having a panic attack at the fact that we were in a graveyard, and started screaming. There was nothing chasing us, or any _real _reason for panic," Darey explained.

The man looked them over. "So then, there was nothing to fear?"

"Nope."

He nodded his head, and then looked back at the town's people. "You are strangers, then?"

"Don't answer that," Francis warned.

Darey looked at him in confusion, and then nodded her head. "Yeah, we just sort of … got here."

"We aren't too fond of strangers," The man told her.

Realization registered in Stefie's and Amanda's eyes. "I know where we are!" Stefie exclaimed in a sing song voice.

"This isn't real, this isn't real," Amanda repeated over and over with apprehension.

"Where are we?" Kaelin demanded.

"Good question," Justine choked out.

"Transylvania! And Anna's city, too!" Stefie exclaimed.

A murmur raced through the crowd as Amanda looked darkly at Stefie. "Can't you shut up? Now they know we know about Anna."

"So maybe they'll be friends with us!" Stefie suggested.

"If you are strangers, and you know of Anna, then you must be the enemy," The man concluded.

Darey stifled a groan. "Or not. Don't you ever get sick of being wrong?" She demanded of Stefie. The other simply shrugged. The crowd closed in further around them. The group was quickly huddled together.

"Well wait a minute, how do we know _you're_ not the enemy?" Dommy asked.

There were several chuckles from the group. And Amanda had to turn to her brother with irritation. "They're not the enemy, you idiot. They're just overly suspicious. You would know that if you actually finished watching the movie."

"Well it was boring," Dommy protested.

"Silence! Give us one good reason as to why we shouldn't kill you," The man said.

"Because you're a nice and merciful evil crowd?" Justine squeaked.

"Sure, accuse them of being evil. That'll _really_ help our case," Francis said sarcastically.

"Guys," Darey said warningly.

"Oh, for crying out loud," Amanda grumbled. "Look, sir, we aren't up to anything, honest. How can we be up to something, if we didn't even know where we are?"

"Yeah. Besides, did you really think you'd see Amanda out in a grave yard at _night_?" Kaelin added.

"You were screaming too!" Amanda countered.

"At least I didn't have a panic attack," Kaelin fired back.

"Are they always like this?" A villager asked Dommy.

"Always," He confirmed. "You should see when it's just the family."

The villager nodded thoughtfully.

"Excuse me," Justine said, inching over to the man in command. He looked her over with curiosity.

"Yes?" He asked.

"Umm, well I was just wondering … are you really going to kill us? I mean, not all of us here are evil. Just Kaelin and Amanda," She said.

Amanda spun on her friend. "What?"

"Well Dommy's always saying you're a demon," Justine replied. "You say it too!"

"Oh yeah."

"A demon!" The man said with alarm.

"Not a real demon," Dommy stated. "Amanda's just annoying. Kaelin, on the other hand. Well just look at her!"

"I'm going to kill you," Kaelin glowered.

"See! Now she's threatening me!"

"Sit down, Dommy," Amanda advised.

"Are we dead yet?" Francis asked. Everyone finally noticed that he had his eyes covered so he couldn't see what was going on around him.

"That is it! I've had enough of these shenanigans. Attack!" The man ordered.

"Wait! You mentioned Van Helsing. Maybe you could … take us to him?" Darey asked.

The man held up his hand to stop the mob. "So you are friends of Van Helsing?"

"I didn't say that," Darey told him. "But we're searching for him. We're under orders from his … boss. We're to help him out on his next mission."

"Children?" The man asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm not a child! I'm eleven!" Dommy snapped. He pointed his stick at the man.

The others rolled their eyes at his antics.

"Yes. We're part of the, eh, junior division?" Darey said.

"Right. Children interested in doing god's work," Amanda said.

"Are you serious?" Kaelin muttered.

The man eyed them over cautiously, and then finally nodded. "Fine. You can stay with me and my servants at Valerious Manor. Van Helsing should be arriving in the morning. My name is Ian Undoch. As for the rest of you, you are dismissed." The people quickly dissipated, leaving just Ian, the gang, and two others. Ian began walking, expecting the teens to follow behind him as the strangers did.

"You're staying at Valerious Manor?" Francis asked in disbelief.

"Someone needed to restore order to this town. It took us months to get everything settled after the death of our Princess," Ian told them.

"How long has it been, again?" Amanda asked.

"Five years exactly next month."

"Five years!" Stefie exclaimed. "I wonder how Van Helsing's taking it."

"Taking what?" Kaelin asked.

"Anna's death."

"Well who's Anna?"

"The princess!" Everyone said in unison.

"I didn't even see the movie, and I knew that," Justine mumbled.

"So it's been five years since the whole … Dracula thing, then?" Amanda asked.

"Yes, and now trouble has returned to Transylvania," Ian told them. A shadow seemed to pass over head, and Dommy shivered as a feeling of foreboding passed through him.

AN: Another chapter for another day. I'm on a roll! So, please REVIEW, kay? I'd greatly appreciate it, because it inspires me.


	6. Chapter Five

AN: Thanks to Fortune Zyne, Aradia Hornbeam, HughJackmanFan, and Gem

Fortune Zyne: You don't want me to ruin the surprise, do you? Well, one of the four you mentioned shall be making a return. Not too certain about the others

Gem: Gonna check that as soon as I get to it, but right now the site's not registering the name, grr. But as for your questions, of the group sent to Van Helsing's world, only Amanda and Dommy are related. Dommy's 11 (I think I mentioned that one) and his sister, Amanda, is gonna be 17, but right now is 16. Only Stefie is 17, Francis, Darey and Justine are 16, while Kaelin is 15. Kaelin was dating Amanda's other brother, DJ, but she broke up with him. Out of the family members mentioned, Amanda has the twins, DJ and Josh, then Kailyn, then Dommy, and finally Aaron. She also has another sister who's living out of the house. The thing is they aren't really important, except for Dommy.

Through the Veil

CHAPTER FIVE

Van Helsing stared at the valley below with apprehension. The sun was just beginning to rise over the hills, and the town's folk seemed to be already up and ready for the bright new day. He glanced back at Carl, who was now trying to keep his balance on horse back. If getting older had done _anything_ to Carl, it had made him clumsier.

"Who are we supposed to get in contact with?" Van Helsing asked.

"Umm, bother! It's here somewhere, Van Helsing!" Carl called as he searched through his pack, several times having to duck to catch a falling item. Finally, he pulled out a sheet of paper. "Ah ha! Now let's see here … oh yes. Ian Undoch, who resides in, oh dear."

"Now what? Van Helsing asked.

"Mr. Undoch is staying at Valerious Manor," Carl said, his throat constricting as he relayed the information.

Van Helsing stiffened as he looked across the way to where the towering manor stood. "Then we shall go strait to see this Mr. Undoch," He replied.

"Eh, Van Helsing, do you really think we can take on a whole coven of … whatever these creatures are?" Carl asked as they began to gallop through the cobble streets. Several people looked up to see them coming, before crowding around and whispering of Van Helsing's arrival.

"They go down with a bullet, Carl. I doubt we have anything to worry about," Van Helsing replied.

"But Van Helsing, what about their abilities?" Carl asked.

"Honestly Carl, we've faced worst," Van Helsing said.

"Oh yes creatures almost identical to a vampire, except they can go out in the sun," Carl said. Then he looked with fear around the small village, as if waiting for something to jump out at him.

"They can't change into a beast's form, either," Van Helsing told him.

"Thrilling," Carl said sarcastically. He dug his fingers tighter against the reins, trying to control himself from screaming in fear. More Delia's? He couldn't handle one, let alone a whole group of them. Van Helsing was crazy to drag him into this.

The friar looked up to see the ominous looking tower before them. Why anyone would choose to live in the frightening old place was beyond him. It, surprisingly, didn't take the two too long to arrive at the home of their departed friend. Van Helsing hesitantly got off his horse, and started for the door.

"Master Van Helsing, Master Van Helsing!" Someone called. Both men turned to see a middle aged woman running towards them. Surprised, Carl recognized the woman to be the barmaid he had saved five years ago – among other things. The woman stepped up, and looked from Carl to Van Helsing, before smiling kindly. "Welcome. Master Ian has been expecting you."

"Has he?" Van Helsing asked with curiosity.

"Oh yes. Word was sent from Gaere informing us of your arrival," The woman said. "Also, your friends arrived last night."

"Friends?" Van Helsing asked. He looked to Carl to see if his friend knew anything about it. The friar shrugged.

"Yes. They said your … boss; I believe that was the term they used; sent them to help you."

"I see," Van Helsing said, his mind wandering at the possibilities of who these imposters could be. "Well, show us to them."

"Of course. Thomas! Take care of the horses and luggage," The woman said.

Another man appeared, tipped his hat at Van Helsing, and then took the horse's reins into his hands. "Thank god above you have arrived, sir," He said.

Van Helsing frowned. Well this was an interesting welcome back.

"If you'll follow me, Master Van Helsing," The barmaid said, gesturing to the door.

"Right," Van Helsing said. He followed after the woman, Carl hiding behind him in an attempt to be hidden from the barmaid's vision. They stepped into the large manor and looked around, memories returning as the old building once again entered their sight. If he tried hard enough, Carl could still smell Velkan as a Lycan when he'd attacked that one night. His eyes wandered to the grand staircase, where sooner or later he would find himself locked away and trying to gain any knowledge on these strange creatures. Also the place where he and the barmaid … his cheeks burned a deep crimson as the thought dared to enter his mind.

As for Van Helsing, every doorway he looked he could just picture Anna walking out of. Her ghostly vision seemed to be haunting him, as ghosts would do. A pint of longing surrounded him for his gone friend. Then guilt swelling in his chest made him turn away and look at the floor, pulling his hat lower to hide his eyes and shame.

"Master Ian is so excited to have you stay as his guest, Master Van Helsing. Things were going so well, and now this. You will help us, no?"

"I'll do the best I can," Van Helsing replied. The walked past a room, the doors wide open. Glancing inside, he caught a glimpse of a boy with curly blond hair, and what seemed to be unusual clothing, talking to someone who he couldn't see. He stopped and walked to the door of the room. The barmaid, not hearing his footsteps, turned to see what he was up to.

"Oh, there are three of your friends, now," She said, gesturing to the teens that were still unaware of their presence.

Van Helsing watched as one, a younger boy with semi-long light brown hair balanced a spoon on his nose, and the other two laughed. He turned back to see that Carl had vanished, and the woman was waiting for him. "If you don't mind," He said in a hushed tone, "I'd like to speak with my 'friends'."

"Fine. I shall alert Master Ian of you arrival."

Van Helsing nodded his consent, and then waited until she was gone before quietly slipping into the room and gently shutting the door behind him. He'd never actually been around children before, people younger than twenty one. At least, not that he could remember. Children were a … strange thing. Fortunately, for them, he couldn't sense any evil from them. So the question remained, how to get their attention?

He cleared his throat, and waited for any response. What he did get, however, wasn't what he was expecting. The younger looked at him, and the spoon dropped from his nose. "Francis," He said. "You never mentioned Wolverine being in the movie."

Van Helsing frowned in confusion as the older two turned to look at him in astonishment.

"I am _not_ a wolverine," Van Helsing said strictly.

"Dude, I didn't say you _were_ one, I said your _name_ was Wolverine," Dommy told him.

Francis paled. "You're not real," He told Van Helsing.

The other – a girl with strait dark brown hair falling to her shoulders – looked darkly at Francis. "If he's not real then we're sharing a pretty interesting hallucination," She grumbled.

Francis narrowed his eyes at her, and then looked back at Van Helsing.

"I know you aren't evil," Van Helsing began.

"That's right! You have that, like, third sense. Manda told me about it!" Dommy said proudly.

Kaelin looked to the ceiling trying to hide her irritation as she licked her top teeth. "You mean _sixth_ sense, dumb -."

"Must you swear?" Francis demanded.

Kaelin looked at him innocently. "I was just going to say 'dumb, dumb."

"_Sure_ you were," Dommy said.

"Excuse me," Van Helsing said. He was beginning to wonder how this Ian guy had gotten anything out of them. "I know you aren't evil, but why would you impersonate a holy person?"

"They were going to kill us," Dommy said simply, as if it were nothing. "Besides, you're going to want to talk to Darey. She was the one who said it."

Van Helsing turned to the older boy, who was still staring at him with confusion. "Do I know you?" He asked.

"No, but I know a lot about you. Not as much as Manda, but she's obsessed," Francis informed him.

Van Helsing raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Obsessed?" He asked.

"Van Helsing, we can't stay here," A worried voice said as it entered the kitchen from another door. Dommy turned in his chair and grinned.

"Carl! I remember him! The sidekick in the -."

"If Amanda was here, she'd tell to shut the hell up," Kaelin told him. He glared at her.

"Evil," He hissed, pointing his bony fingers at her.

"Van Helsing?" Carl squealed.

Gabriel stepped forward, standing so that Dommy couldn't see Kaelin. "I've found our imposters," He said.

"Well hey! We're not the only imposters here," Dommy told him. "There's Amanda – she's my sister, she's evil, and Justine, and Stefie, and Darey!"

"She's evil?" Carl asked, a picture of a snarling beast popping into his mind.

"Yeah, and so is Kaelin!"

"I am _not_ evil," Kaelin told Carl and Van Helsing.

"If the shoe fits," Francis murmured under his breath.

"Why aren't you children at home with your parents?" Van Helsing asked, looking mainly to Dommy where he seemed to be getting most of the information.

Obligingly, the boy said, "Well you see, there was this big curtain thing, but it wasn't really a curtain, it was a portal to another world, and we were all sucked in. We appeared in this graveyard, and Manda had a panic attack, so the villagers came, and they said they were going to kill us! But Darey said we were friends of yours, because Stefie, Manda and Francis know all about you, and they said it was okay to stay and wait for you, so we did."

"Quite an imagination you have there," Carl said.

"Unfortunately, he's telling the truth. We're stuck here," Kaelin said dully.

"Another world?" Carl asked with amazement. "What are the possibilities?"

"There aren't any," Van Helsing said harshly. "Just children making a whole fuss over a false story or two. You should be very much ashamed. I shall take you to your homes as soon as possible."

Kaelin and Dommy sighed with frustration. "Dude, unless you know how to open a portal to the _real_ world, you _can't_ take us home," Dommy told him.

"Why must you be so persistent?" Van Helsing demanded.

"Why must you be such a hardhead?" Kaelin shot back.

"A what?" Van Helsing questioned.

Kaelin blinked. "Right, stupid world. At least tell me you have CD players," She said.

"What's a CD?" Carl asked.

Kaelin groaned and then turned to the door. "I gotta get outta here," She grumbled.

Carl leaned over the Van Helsing. "Is she one of them?" He asked, looking after Kaelin.

He shook his head. "No Carl," He said with a brush of irritation.

Dommy looked considerate. "So who is the big bad here?"

"What?"

"Oh come on. In everything there's a reason, at least that's what my Aunt Cheryl says. There's obviously a reason why we're here and you're back, so who are you after?" Dommy asked.

"You can be as air headed as your sister sometimes, you know that?" Francis snapped with frustration. "Do you really think they'll tell us what their problem is?"

"Look, I'm trying to think as logically as Amanda would. If she were here right now, she would figure we were here to try and help them, so I'm going to ask how we can help."

"Children!" Someone exclaimed.

Everyone looked to see Ian Undoch, who had managed to slip into the room unnoticed. He was looking at the group with some interest, but also confusion. "What's going on in here?"

"He started it!" Dommy said, pointing to Francis. The other boy looked at him, surprised, and then slouched in a chair; arms over his chest.

Ian looked over the group of friends before looking to his right. "Mister Van Helsing, I presume?" He asked. Gabriel nodded his head. "Excellent. You do not understand the concern that these incidents have brought up."

"So what exactly has been happening?" Francis asked, looking slightly interested.

"Ah, I believe you've met your assistants, Mister Van Helsing," Ian said, gesturing to Francis and Dommy. "Eh, where are the girls?"

"Still sleeping," Dommy informed them.

Van Helsing looked at Ian. "I do not work with children. Not women, or children."

"Well your employer sent them."

Francis sunk lower in his seat as Van Helsing looked darkly at him.

"I've never met them before, and there is no way my _employer_ would send anyone else, let alone children, to handle this situation," Van Helsing fumed.

"So they lied?" Ian asked, turning angrily to the two boys.

"What?" Dommy asked defensively. "We only did it so you wouldn't kill us. I don't know about you, but having a pitchfork continuously pointed at your spinal cord really _hurts_."

"Be that as it may you are strangers, and apparently you lied," Ian said.

"We were frightened," Francis said, like it was obvious.

"I have informed them I will return them to their homes as soon as I've been briefed about the occurrences. If that's alright with you," Van Helsing said, turning to Ian.

"Where do you think they're going to go?" Ian asked. "They aren't from around here."

"Their horses?" Van helsing asked.

"There were none. They were in the graveyard last night. Alone," Ian said, now eyeing the two boys with heavy suspicion, once again.

"The nearest town is half a day's journey from here! It's impossible for them to have walked," Van Helsing exclaimed.

"Unless they are the creatures," Ian growled.

"But Van Helsing, you said they weren't evil," Carl said.

"They aren't," Van Helsing said. He seemed thoughtful. "There must be a logical explanation."

"How about trying the one we _told_ you?" Dommy asked. "It makes sense to me."

"So let me get this strait. You guys believe in monsters, horrible creatures, things of good, but you _don't believe there are other world's_?" Francis demanded.

"We can prove we're from another world. We know everything about Van Helsing."

"That proves nothing," Ian snarled.

"No, no, you're not listening!" Dommy exclaimed.

"They're listening, they just don't understand," Francis said dully.

"So explain it to them," Dommy said.

Ian crossed his arms over his chest with frustration and distrust, impatient to throw these pretenders to the villagers when they couldn't supply a meaningful explanation.

"Me?" Francis asked. "This is more of a Darey explanation. She can explain anything."

"She couldn't explain what happened to Mr. Theodore," Dommy muttered grudgingly.

Francis blinked. "Your teddy bear?"

"Eh …," Dommy looked away, embarrassed.

Van Helsing frowned, and then turned away, gesturing for Ian and Carl to follow him.

"I apologize for all of this Mister Van Helsing," Ian said.

"Don't bother. It isn't your fault," Gabriel replied.

"What should we do about these children?" Carl asked. "What if what they speak is true?"

"Impossible," Ian said. "There's no such thing. Besides, if they were from another world, how could they possibly know about Van Helsing as they suggest they do?"

"Are you talking about us over there?" Dommy asked. Van Helsing glanced behind him to see Dommy standing on a chair and peering at them, attempting to read their lips.

"If you'll excuse us," He said, gesturing to the door.

Ian looked hesitant as Carl and Van Helsing exited the room, unsure whether he could trust the boys alone. Finally, he followed after the men as they stepped into the hallway.

Van Helsing glanced back at the closed door, as Carl said, "I say we give them a chance to explain. Anna would have."

This got Van Helsing's attention. He snapped his head around to look at his friend. "You think so?" He asked; harshness in his voice.

"What if they're telling the truth?" Carl asked.

"They're children. They can't be telling the truth."

"Then explain everything. They aren't evil; they appear in a graveyard late at night without horses … I think we should believe them. They may have some knowledge about how to destroy these things," Carl said.

"Preposterous," Ian snarled. "The whole idea is crazy. Let us just get rid of them, so we can focus on our main problem. Now Van Helsing, this really isn't any of your concern. I would very much appreciate to have this mess all settled."

"Of course, of course," Van helsing said. "I just …" He glanced at Carl, his words in his head. Anna _would_ have heard them out. Wouldn't she? Sighing, he said, "I don't feel proper abandoning children to your villagers, as I'm sure you wish to do. You yourself aren't more than a teenager."

Ian stood taller, and met Van Helsing's eyes. "I'm just trying to look out for my people."

"That is another thing I am very interested in learning about. Why would someone of your age take control of the town? And how could you manage to pull it off?" Gabriel asked.

Ian pursed his lips. "I can handle this town just fine," He said. Then he swallowed with broken pride. "Perhaps you should stick to doing your job, and allow me to do mine."

"Perhaps," Van Helsing said, surprised by his great dislike for the man before him. He even knew why he felt distrustful of the man. There were several reasons, actually, the main being he had taken over Anna's house, Anna's job. But, these things would be settled eventually. Right now, he had things to take care of.

With a determined look, he said, "I will take these children out to the graveyard they claim they appeared in, see if we can find any truth to their story. If not, we'll allow them to set off on their own, and I will begin my search for the beasts."

"I see your dislike of laws hasn't changed," Ian said.

Van Helsing couldn't stop the small grin from spreading across his face. "The laws of man mean little to me," He quoted.

Ian let out a frustrated sound, and then reluctantly nodded his head. "Fine," He hissed. "But keep in mind your _job_ is not to deal with children; it is to get rid of the monsters that plague my town. Understand?"

Without waiting for an answer, he stormed off. Van Helsing looked at Carl.

"What were you saying when you came into the kitchen?" He asked.

"Eh … never mind," Carl replied.

AN: Wow, I think I totally made Ian out to be an ignorant and evil dude. Eh … don't kill me? Any hoo, I'm hoping to introduce the beginning plot of the story in the next chapter, so some inspiration would be nice!


	7. Chapter Six

AN: Thanks to HughJackmanFan and Fortune Zyne

Through the Veil

CHAPTER SIX

"I can't believe we're actually meeting Van Helsing," Stefie said gleefully. "I mean, he's actually here, and he's really trying to prove that we're not from our world!" The group was marching through the streets together, all the kids dressed in what they'd worn yesterday. It wouldn't take too long at all to get to the Graveyard, which was where they were headed.

Darey rolled her eyes. "Oh yes, that is _definitely_ something to be excited about," She stated.

"Isn't anyone else concerned that we're in a fictional story, hanging out with a fictional character?" Justine asked.

"More than you know," Amanda said, shaking her head. "Any minute now I'll wake up, and everything will make sense."

"Oh, come on Manda. You know nothing makes sense when it comes to you," Dommy told her cheerfully, before skipping ahead to look up at Van Helsing. "Why do you wear that hat?"

Van Helsing looked down at him, surprised by the question, while Francis rolled his eyes. "Excuse me?" Van Helsing inquired.

"I said why do you wear that hat? It looks kind of stupid."

"How dare you!" Amanda exclaimed. "Don't insinuate that his hat looks stupid! It's what makes him Van Helsing!"

"I say it looked better on Anna," Francis said, ignoring how Van Helsing winced at the mention of Anna.

"You think _anything_ would look better on Anna," Stefie shot at him. His cheeks burned a bright red, but he looked away with a shrug. Darey smirked, and then gently elbowed Kaelin.

"Hey, what's wrong with you?" She asked.

"Gee, we're walking to a _graveyard_, with an imaginary person who turns out to be real, far away from home, and I'm stuck with _you_ guys. I might as well be in a Soap Opera," She muttered to herself.

"That's it!" Amanda exclaimed. "This is one of those TV shows, and they're making fun of us! Alright guys, where's the camera?"

"That's pathetic," Francis said.

"Yeah. If this were really a reality show, they wouldn't get Wolverine and the monk dude to be in it," Dommy told him.

"He's not a monk, he's a friar!" Three sets of voices yelled at the boy.

"Well he's a holy guy isn't he? Anybody crazy enough to throw their life away for a boring time in a crazy house surrounded by -."

"Stop while you're ahead," Amanda warned.

"Excuse me," Carl said. "How do you seem to know so much about us?"

"Ah, Darey, this is your time to shine," Justine said.

"Can't you people do anything for yourselves," Darey grumbled. "Alright, I suppose it's time to get out a good explanation as to what's going on."

"There _isn't_ a logical explanation," Amanda groaned.

"Hush! She said a good explanation, not a logical one."

"Alright, we're from a different world," Darey began.

"Oh, the boys have already told us that," Carl told her.

"Then why do you need an explanation?"

"Actually, Darey, we sort of left the part about the movie to you," Francis said.

"Yeah, Chicken boy over here was too _stupid_ to say anything," Dommy replied.

"Well I didn't see _you_ jumping to answer anything," Francis growled.

"Okay, stop interrupting," Darey said, looking darkly at the two. "With you two in a room together, no one will get a chance to speak. So shut up now, before I sic Helsing on you."

"I thought you said you didn't watch the movie," Amanda said.

Darey grinned. "I didn't. But I listened to you, Stefie and Francis enough to have a basic understanding of it. Mostly you, though," She replied.

Van Helsing stopped, causing Kaelin to run into him. She quickly jerked back, as if burned, before narrowing her eyes at him angrily.

"Watch where you're going!" She snapped.

Van Helsing ignored her and looked at Darey. "Why do you keep mentioning this 'movie'? What is it?" He demanded.

"Darey," Stefie said pointedly.

"Alright, fine. You see Mr. Van Helsing … can I call you Gabriel?"

"No."

"Okay then. Anyways, where we come from, there are these things called movies. They're like a play, only you don't necessarily have to go to a theatre to see it," Darey said.

"Not go to the theatre?" Carl asked. "Impossible."

"No, it's actually possible. You see, almost everyone - well, almost everyone in _America_ - has this … umm, black or silver box in their house, which transmits images. There are things that you can watch on this box, called Television shows. They're basically, uh, plays, only going on through the box."

"How do they get the people in the box?" Carl asked with amazement.

"Well, by using wires to send the images. You see, the … pictures are broken down into tiny pieces of data -."

"Data?"

"Oh boy, I don't know technical stuff," Darey grumbled.

"You know more than the rest of us," Justine said.

"I guess. Okay, data is bits of information that you can't really … see."

"Sort of like how Gabriel knows if someone is evil, but he may not be able to _see_ it," Amanda filled in.

"He can tell if someone's evil? Cool," Stefie said.

"Stefie, you saw the movie!" Francis exclaimed.

"I'm not allowed to forget things?" Stefie asked lightly.

"Amanda makes a good point, though. Data is like Van Helsing's sixth sense," Darey said.

"I wouldn't call it a sixth sense, exactly," Kaelin corrected.

"Like you would know anything about that," Justine said.

"Guys! I'm trying to explain," Darey said. "A little silence here?"

"Sorry," Everyone murmured.

"As I was saying, this data is sent through these cables that are connected to all the houses, and the wires are connected to the televisions – the boxes – and the images appear on the screen. The images themselves are recorded through a camera, which can specifically capture moving pictures, and transform them into data."

"Fascinating," Carl said.

"Well, there are also these smaller boxes that connect to the televisions, called VCR's. VCR's read data from a square cassette that is put inside the VCR itself and it shows movies, or sometimes television shows that have been put on the tapes. Oh, and there are DVD players. They're like the VCR, but they play things called DVD's, which are compacted discs, that are read by lasers which transmit the data to the television. That's actually how we know about Van Helsing's world, because there was a movie all about Van Helsing's adventure with Dracula."

"Impracticable!" Van Helsing snapped, finally speaking. "How is it possible that they even know about that, if this is, indeed, another world, like you say?"

"Want us to prove it?" Dommy shot back. "Orlando knows everything about that movie, don't ya?"

"Do you have to call me Orlando?" Amanda demanded angrily.

"Manda?"

"More than Stefie and Francis," Amanda admitted.

"Tell him something only they would know," Justine said.

"Well, I don't know. What if they told the Vatican?" Amanda asked.

"How do you know about the Vatican?" Carl asked, surprised.

"This is a good start," Stefie said cheerfully.

"Well … it was in the movie. I mean, the movie itself started a year before the adventure, with Victor Frankenstein creating the Frankenstein monster and Dracula … I think Dracula killed him. I don't really remember. Either way, he died, and the Frankenstein monster became upset, and carried the Doctor's body away from the mob and to the old … oh, what was it? The windmill! And then Dracula and his brides showed up, and they thought Frankenstein – the monster – had died with Victor, so they flew away. Then everything turned to Van Helsing when he was going after Mr. Hide."

At this Van Helsing's eyes lit in surprise. "Oh really?" He asked.

"Yeah. It started with you ripping off a wanted poster – a poster of you, because they said you were a murderer – and then you found that woman's dead body, and you showed up in that church, traded a few remarks with Mr. Hide, he had that bell fall on you, you sawed your way out with your, uhh, I wanna say swooshy, swooshy blades, like DJ says, but everyone else calls them Tojo Blades, I think. Then he lifted the bell, you were gone, you started fighting, big fight scene – that's a bit of a blur – and -."

"How do you know about that? No one else was inside that church!" Van Helsing exclaimed.

"I _told_ you! It was in the movie."

"Try something else. Something better," Dommy encouraged.

"Okay. Uhh … Carl! Did you ever tell the Vatican about Van Helsing turning into a werewolf? Or how Anna _really_ died?" Amanda asked.

With this, Van Helsing gripped her shirt, and sneered angrily at her. "How do you know all this?"

"Because it happened! It happened in the movie, and it happened here, too! Viscous materials, Carl?"

"My god," Carl said, staring in wonderment.

"Good job, Manda," Darey said with a wide smile.

"I don't know. Van Helsing seems sort of, upset," Justine said fearfully.

"You're name's actually Gabriel," Amanda continued. "That ring on your finger belonged to Dracula, but you took it from him when you killed him, over three hundred years ago. You can't remember anything of your past, and the only person with the answer to that would be Dracula. But instead of becoming partners with him, like he suggested, you bit him in the neck, destroying him forever." Her voice now became quick and slightly panicked as she was lifted into the air, and Van Helsing was watching her darkly.

"What else?" He asked.

Amanda swallowed hard, before continuing. "Umm … that thing! The light thing! In the beginning, Carl didn't know what it was for, but it measured the intensity of the sun, mixed with water and sand, something about the Gobi Desert. Then, when you tried to pull Anna from the ball, where Dracula wanted a switch – the princess, for the monster – Carl realized he could use it to destroy all the vampires at the ball. Van Helsing accidentally killed Anna, when he was a werewolf, and then cradled her dead body as he howled in the moonlight before turning back because Anna had given him the antidote. Anna never saw the ocean – that's why you burned her body by it."

Van Helsing dropped her in surprise, and then turned to Carl, jaw wide open.

"Now that's some answers," Darey said.

"Gotta hand it to you, Manda. I didn't even remember most of that stuff," Francis stated.

"I don't really remember the movie at all," Stefie said with a shrug.

"It's true, then," Van Helsing said.

"Okay, ouch! Could you _not_ drop me on the ground next time? And there _so_ better not be a next time," Amanda said, getting up.

Kaelin snickered, and then quickly looked away, hiding her face so no one would see that it was she.

Justine looked sympathetically at Van Helsing. "Amanda, maybe you shouldn't have pushed the Anna thing."

"It was the only way to get him to know that we were serious. Besides, its been five years now, you'd think he'd be over it," Amanda said.

"So you just expect everyone to get over things?" Kaelin snapped, suddenly looked furious.

Amanda winced at that. "Kaelin, I didn't mean it like that. I mean, it's only been three months since … Van Helsing's had years," She said.

"And that makes a difference?" Kaelin asked, her face hardened.

Dommy sighed, knowing where this conversation was going, and looked ahead. "Hey! There's the graveyard. Come on, guys. Maybe we can trigger the portal," He suggested.

The others did as he suggested, quickly walking away leaving just Amanda, Kaelin, Carl, and Van Helsing.

"I don't understand," Carl said.

"It doesn't matter!" Kaelin snapped, her face contorted with fury. "This isn't any of your business, so just lay off, okay?"

Amanda swallowed, and then turned to the bewildered friar. "Kaelin's Mom … she passed away three months ago," She said.

"Need to tell the whole world, don't you?" Kaelin asked. "You never could keep a secret."

"Kaelin -."

"Don't bother," Kaelin said. "Just … just don't talk to me, okay?"

She quickly took off down the path to meet up with the others, arms wrapped defensively around herself. Amanda looked to Van Helsing unsurely. "Well I screwed that one up," She said.

The hunter, still confused about all he had heard, and his feelings a mess, simply looked at her, before moving ahead.

Sighing, Amanda looked pleadingly at Carl. "Please tell me that none of this is real. Then I'd only have one person mad at me."

Carl licked his lips thoughtfully. "I think this is all very surreal. But, don't mind what Van Helsing seems to be thinking. It's just that lately Anna has been thrown at him. This Mr. Undoch is staying in Anna's castle, and Van Helsing and I are expected to stay there. Not to mention what you just mentioned. You know, it's rather interesting. I didn't quite realize how much he cared for her until I saw her dead."

Amanda and he started walking forward. "I never could get how they hardly knew each other, and yet Van Helsing acted as if he really cared for her. She, too. You just can't like someone you don't even know?"

"I don't really think that's up to us to decide. But tell me more about your world. It sounds extremely amazing," Carl exclaimed.

"Well -."

"Hey! Let go of me!" Someone screamed from up ahead.

"It's going to have to wait till later!" Amanda exclaimed, as the two exchanged a look of confusion, and then raced to catch up with the others.


	8. Chapter Seven

AN: Thanks to Aradia-Hornbeam, and HughJackmanFan

HughJackmanFan: Uh, just curious, is English a second language for you? It sort of seems that way by the way you write your reviews, so I was just a little curious

Through the Veil

CHAPTER SEVEN

"I said … LET, me, GO!" Dommy shrieked, attempting to pull away from the clawed hand that gripped him. Darey and Kaelin quickly rushed up, trying to pull him away, while Van Helsing readied his gun. The woman gripped Dommy tightly, and held him against her chest.

"Tut, tut," She said, watching them. "We wouldn't want to hurt the boy?"

"Who are you?" Van Helsing asked.

"I am what you search for, no?" The woman said. She had the same ethereal voice that Delia had carried, and the same inhuman beauty. She had raven locks, the same pale skin, but exactly green eyes. She was dressed in a purple frock, very simple – the top just barely covering her chest, the bottom flowing around her ankles. She wore leather boots with a dagger not too discreetly hidden at the side.

"Give up the boy, he has nothing to do with you," Van Helsing said.

"Oh, but he is so cute. Such a small child." She ran her red fingernail down his cheek, causing Dommy to shiver.

"Eh, a little help?" He asked, unable to move his arms, and the idea of moving his feet at the mercy of this psychopath who had a very sharp and pointy fingernail so close to his eye was a little perturbed.

"Hang in there, Dommy," Darey said reassuringly. "We'll get you out of there."

The woman cackled. "Oh, so naïve are you. So different from the others. She was right when she said the newcomers would be worth the catch."

"I hope she doesn't mean us," Justine said.

"Are there any other new comers here?" Francis snapped.

"Hey guys, stop focusing on yourselves and start working on getting me away from this sadistic freak!" Dommy screamed.

Before anyone could reply, several other snickers rose into the air, as more women surrounded the group.

"This is going to take a while," Kaelin acknowledged.

Van Helsing spun behind him and fired the gun at the first woman he saw. "Be careful of them. They're like vampires!"

"Like Dracula?" Stefie asked.

"Oh no, we're worst!" The one nearest to her giggled.

"Worst than Dracula?" Stefie asked doubtfully.

"Will you stop conversing with them and help out?" Darey said as she pushed a woman away from her. Francis grabbed one's arm, and flipped her through the air.

Kaelin desperately tried to grasp some of the things she had learned while spending all that time at the Bahren's. _Okay … what was that thing Amanda had tried out on me and DJ_? Taking a sort of stance, she thrust her palm outward so it hit one of the women in the chest so that she stumbled back, but disappeared. Several gun shots filled ears, as Van Helsing was quickly aiming to take out these strange beings. Justine continually dodged away from the females that tried to reach out for her, while glancing back to Dommy. Where were Amanda and Carl?

Dommy – having an itch on his nose – tried to lift his fingers out of the woman's vise-like grip. When he couldn't, he made a frustrated sound.

"What's wrong, puppet?" The woman whispered.

"Could you let me go for a minute?" Dommy asked. "My nose itches."

"Oh, poor darling," She said with false pity. "How about you come with me, and I could let you take care of that - if you come without a fight."

"Are you crazy?" Dommy asked. "I'm not _that_ desperate." Then he sneezed all over her bare arm. Scowling, the woman pushed the boy away, encouraging him to move forward.

"Don't talk back," She sneered.

Van Helsing positioned himself in front of one of the women, who happened to be right next to another before taking a shot. The bullet passed between the two, causing the same affect that had taken place with all the others he had shot, like with Delia. He spun around, and managed to see one of the women sneaking up behind the girl with black curls with a look of intense delight. "Duck!" He shouted to the girl, before taking out the creature.

Darey shot him a thankful grin, before running off to Kaelin's aid, as she was now lying on her back, about to become a dagger's sheath. She kicked the arm away, and the woman vanished darkly, before appearing just behind someone else. Darey bent down and gripped Kaelin's hand, pulling her to her feet.

"You think you can handle everything?" She asked.

"I think I've got it," Kaelin said, her eyes looking around the cemetery, flickering to where the villagers had been busy doing their daily work, but now the streets were empty at confrontation.

"Someone needs to get Dommy out of that wench's grip," Darey said, grimacing at the fighting child.

"I'll work on it. He can tolerate me half the time. You should help Stefie out," Kaelin suggested. The mentioned was dancing about a head stone, dodging the grasping fingers of their enemy. She managed to make it around the head stone before the creature could even notice, and smashed her head hard against the stone. Then she whooped joyfully in success, and started after another of the beasts, which were beginning to close in on the weak Justine, and uncertain Francis.

"Stefie can handle herself, but there's no way Justine can. Get to Dommy, kay?"

"Got it."

doo doo doo-

Amanda pulled Carl into the bushes and peered out of an opening.

"Shouldn't we be helping?" Carl asked with concern.

"No, of course not," Amanda whispered. "We have an advantage – they don't know we're here yet. We're going to need a weapon or something to throw them off. God, who _are_ these whackos?"

"We aren't entirely sure," Carl admitted. "We fought only one back in Ireland, named Delia. She was a real trouble maker. She was very much like a vampire, able to blink in and out, she would suck the blood of her victims, but she was different in some strange way. She told us when she died that they would come for us."

"How do you kill them?" Amanda asked, peering over the hedge in a light attempt to get a better view of what was going on.

"Get down!" Carl snapped, grabbing her arm and jerking her away from the bullet that _just_ missed her head. Eyes wide, she looked at Carl.

"Eh … thanks, I think," She said slowly.

"We aren't entirely sure how to kill them," Carl replied, meeting her eyes. "But shooting them where the heart should be seems to work."

Amanda attempted to narrow her eyes at him, her black eye making it a little difficult. "I doubt you have a gun on you."

"Of course not. Don't you?"

"Carl, I'm not even allowed to touch a knife without someone yelling at me that I'm going to slice myself … again. I don't even know how to _work_ a gun. And look at Van Helsing," She said, peering through the hole in the bush.

"Well he's had years of experience," Carl replied.

Amanda blinked. "That's not what I meant. He's just shooting off bullets, completely wasting them! I mean, he isn't really even looking at what he's doing. What if he ends up shooting someone – one of the _good_ guys? Well that would just be another point for the guilt side, wouldn't it be. You'd think he'd learn that lesson, but _noooo_. He has to be mister reckless. And do you even know how difficult it is to get bullets. A complete waste, I tell you," She stated.

Carl stared at her with surprise. "Shouldn't you be more concerned with how we can help your friend's?" He asked.

"Right, sorry. Just a bit of the control freak, taking over. I'm alright. Okay … we need a plan."

"Finally, someone who understands the use of a plan," Carl said.

Amanda snorted. "Just warning you now, Carl, my plans always end up horribly disastrous."

"Well that's reassuring," Carl squeaked.

Amanda smirked. "Sometimes, though, I can do Waterloo. Look, help me with this branch."

"What are you going to do with it?" Carl inquired.

"Oh, you'll see," Amanda said with a secret tone, looking mischievously at the friar.


	9. Chapter Eight

AN: Thanks to HughJackmanFan and Fortune Zyne

HughJackmanFan: Its okay that your first language isn't English, I was just a tad bit confused when I was reading some of the reviews you left, is all.

Through the Veil

CHAPTER EIGHT

Dommy flinched, as he stubbed his toe on a head stone. "Where are you taking me?" He asked.

"Oh, just trying to get you situated, darling. Just relax," The woman said.

"Relax? Easy for you to say, you're the one bossing me around," Dommy grumbled, looking up to see Kaelin creeping towards him. Well what the hell was _she_ going to do? Whip out some cigarettes and blow the smoke into the woman's face? Like _that_ would work.

The woman pushed him against a head stone, and then a strange rope appeared around Dommy, tying him to the grave.

"Hey, hey! What's this? This is a dead guy's stone, that's what it is! Why on earth are you tying me to it? Hey! You know, there's a dead guy buried down there. You aren't going to dig him up, are you?"

The woman smirked at him. "You just keep on talking, don't you?" She asked. "So much words you have, you are … rather full of life. Life that could be so easy to take." She brushed her nail against his jugular, and he jerked away.

"Is that a threat?" He demanded. "Cuz if that's a threat; I could sue you for harassment. What do you think of that, huh?"

"I say if you do not shut your lips I will bite them off myself, and that will be most unpleasant," She told him.

"I'll tell you what's unpleasant, you are. You know, you are _really_ creepy. Anyone ever tell you that before?" He inquired.

She smirked, before looking to another of the women. "Watch him, while I go and take care of Van Helsing," She commanded. The woman nodded, and appeared beside Dommy.

"Hello, dear. What's your name?" She asked.

"Uhh … Vin Diesel," Dommy said.

"I'm Keira. You and your friends have made quite a fuss among us, young one," She said, grinning to show two sets of razor sharp teeth.

Dommy jerked back. "My god, you're a cannibal!"

She started laughing. "A cannibal! I would not dare lay a finger on my own, child. But you … you and these other humans could quite satisfy our hunger."

"Dude, I am definitely not someone's _lunch_! I'm too skinny," He said.

"You would make an excellent pet for my Queen," She said, stroking his brown hair.

Dommy looked at her, surprised. "Pet? Eh, like a cage and doggy dish? Daily walks, or what? Cuz if I'm supposed to be like a pet dog, the offer is so on!"

The woman looked at him, confused. "You are a strange one."

"_Thank_ you!" Dommy exclaimed.

"Keira, stop playing with the human!" Someone called. Dommy turned to see that Kaelin had gotten herself caught, and was now trying to struggle out of the firm grip. Francis was beginning to lose a battle against three of the women surrounding him and a stiff Justine. Darey was fighting off two at a time with her fists, and doing a pretty good job at it. Stefie was hopping around further down the graves with four women chasing her as she weaved in and out, always managing to dodge them, and sometimes trick them into hurting themselves. Van Helsing was quickly hidden by a bright purple light followed by a screech, and then reappeared, swinging his guns around, taking out two at a time.

"Where's my stick when you need it?" Dommy grumbled.

"Anseo," A familiar voice whispered. Dommy inconspicuously turned his head towards a bundle of bushes.

"_Gaelic_," He said under his breath with disgust. And there was only one person who could speak a bit of Gaelic, and that was Amanda. _Damn Mom for buying her that book_, he thought angrily when he saw her raise her head a bit from behind the bushes.

"What are you doing?" Dommy mouthed at her.

There was a quick rustling in the bushes, and seconds later Amanda had pulled Carl up to show that they were there … and no one else knew they were there. _Excellent_.

Carl frantically ducked back into the bushes, and Amanda was forced to roll her eyes after him, before subtly gesturing to a giant branch that almost resembled her old baseball bat, except for it was very choppy looking, and they didn't have baseball bats here. After all, playing baseball would be too much _fun_ for these crazy people.

Dommy blinked, and then turned to Keira. "So, what's the weather like here in creepyville?" He asked conversationally.

She eyed him suspiciously. "The weather?" She asked.

"Yes. I see there is snow on the ground. Does it snow often?"

"I suppose," Keira replied.

"Hmm … and how does that make you feel?"

"Excuse me?"

"Well what do you think of the cold? Do ya like it, hate it, dance in it? My sister Kailyn dances in the rain a lot. And the snow. She's one of those hippies, you know? You have any family?" Dommy inquired.

"Six brothers," Keira replied.

"Yep. I got three sisters, and three brothers. I'll tell ya, it's crazy. My sister Melanie … I shudder to think about her."

"Are any of these your relatives?" Keira asked, gesturing to the group fighting before them.

"Nah. They're all my other sister's, Orlando, they're her friends. We all got sucked into this world through a mystical portal of doom," Dommy told her.

"_Really_. A portal?"

"Yep. Looked like a giant curtain to me, but hey, what do I know? My sister says I'm stupid."

"You're unusual," Keira agreed.

"Yeah, that's what I tell 'em, you know? I'm different from them – I'm my own person! Nobody can boss me around, no sirry bob. You shouldn't let anyone boss you around like that other lady did, either. Where I came from, we have natural rights."

"Are you trying to start a mutiny?" Keira asked, smiling dangerously, revealing those frightening teeth.

Dommy swallowed. "Is it working?"

"Oh, darling, you are very funny. My Queen will very much enjoy your presence."

"So, what exactly is your Queen?"

"The first Sreain," Keira said proudly.

"A shree-na? What's that?" Dommy inquired, trying to pronounce the word properly.

"It is what we are," Keira replied.

"Well yeah, but what does that _mean_?"

"It means – augh!"

"Augh?" Dommy asked in confusion. Seconds later, Keira fell unconscious to the ground, and Dommy got a clear look at Amanda.

"Okay, _how_ long does it take to see that she was distracted? And why did you have to knock her unconscious when she was about to reveal her evil plot?" Dommy demanded.

Rolling her eyes, Amanda bent down and quickly began to undo his bindings. "Yeah, well, would have taken care of it sooner, but you called me Orlando. Just getting even," She said with a cheerful smile.

"Oh come on, you love it when I call you Orlando," Dommy said.

"Love it? It's as bad as Josh calling me Tivo, because he's _convinced_ I have supernatural powers over time," Amanda grumbled, biting her lip as she managed to slice through the ropes. A soon as they fell at the boy's ankles, she grabbed a hold of him, and darted behind the bushes.

Dommy looked at her and Carl, surprised. "That's it? _That_ was your major plan?" He snapped.

Amanda frowned. "No," She sneered. "I got you out of there for a _reason_. Hand over the straw."

"What straw?" Dommy asked innocently.

"You know what straw! The one you always keep in your sock! Hand it over."

"What do you plan to do with it, anyways?" Dommy asked, as he pulled it out. "Spit-ball those Sreain's to death?"

"Shree-na?" Carl asked.

"Yeah, that's what the lady who Amanda clubbed said they were called. Hey! What are you going to do with that?" Dommy demanded, pointing to the little capsule in his sister's hand. She grinned.

"Did I ever mention Carl is a _genius_? Now be quiet, so I can get this settled," Amanda told him. She stood on her knees, popped the capsule into the straw, took aim, and fired out at the first 'blond bimbo' that she saw, who just so happened to be the woman who was tying Kaelin to a stone. The desired effect was carried out, as the woman began to claw at her back, before bursting into flames and shriveling away.

"Suc_cess_!" Amanda exclaimed, pulling her fist towards her in a winning gesture. Then she turned to Carl. "You were right! Bits of silver wrapped up in a clover, soaked in holy water and then propelled at 23 miles per hour _will_ do damage."

"Of course I was right," Carl said, looking very proud.

"Uh huh, well you might wanna get back to setting those things on fire. They're looking at the bushes like they're _very_ suspicious," Dommy said.

"Yeah, yeah," Amanda grumbled. She took a bunch of the tiny 'bullets' and fired them off at several others, before the dark haired woman who seemed to be in charge shouted out to the others – the seven that were left – to retreat. Then there was silence.

"Alright, who's the genius making those things start on fire?" Francis asked.

Amanda and Dommy looked up, before forcing Carl to stand. "Are you sure they're gone?" Carl asked.

"Yes, Carl, they're gone," Van Helsing said, swinging his guns away.

"What were those things, exactly?" Darey asked, while Stefie managed to catch up with them, and Kaelin finally pulled herself out of the ropes.

"Yeah, and why were they tying us to tombstones?" She added.

"They're called Sreain's and they were planning to take us back to their secret layer, so we could be pets for their queen," Dommy said.

"Did they find out you weren't from around here?" Van Helsing asked.

"Uhh … I don't think the lady Amanda knocked out will be telling anyone anytime soon," Dommy said, looking slightly embarrassed. "Sides, I think they already knew. I mean, that lady _did_ say they were there for the strangers, or something."

"Why are they after us?" Justine asked.

"That is an excellent question," Darey said.

"Perhaps it was because you are from another world," Carl suggested.

"But how would they know that?" Francis demanded.

"Maybe they brought us!" Dommy exclaimed.

"Why would they bring us? We're the good guys … right?" Justine asked. Everyone nodded in agreement.

Van Helsing frowned, his eyes looking over the graveyard. "We better be headed back to Valerious Manor, and report the incident to Mr. Undoch," He said.

AN: So did you understand why it took Amanda so long to rescue Dommy? She and Carl were making those little bullet things. And conveniently, there were a lot of clovers! Anyways, please REVIEW!


	10. Chapter Nine

AN: Thanks to Fortune Zyne, Aradia-Hornbeam (since you asked so nicely), and Ithilwenn

HughJackmanFan: God, I hope I didn't offend you last time. I'm sorry!

Ithilwenn: Usually I would have started flipping out at your review because you were complaining about the characters, but I honestly have to agree with you. There are a lot, and it might be difficult to understand, so there's no problem there. Umm … the kid who I based Dommy after, my brother, was actually really surprised to read your review, and was shocked anyone would wanna ask for more of him, lol. About Amanda and Carl, eh, not too sure there. I mean, Carl's, like, in his twenties, maybe even thirties and Amanda's seventeen, so that would be a little awkward, but I've written worst. I'll think about it. Also, this will disappoint ya, but I do plan to bring Dracula in, but the plot of this story isn't like any of the others I read, I don't think, and he will have a sort of major character, but there's gonna be more than just Dracula in the evil department, so … Hmm, anything else? Oh, don't pay too much attention to the evil girls in the story (the Sreain). The only people you'll want to know from that department are Queen Deidre (this chapter), Alys (She was the one who captured Dommy originally), and Delia (Maybe).

Aradia-Hornbeam: So proud of myself, I got started on this chap earlier than I was planning, so that's cool. Still should be studying for all three tests I've got on Thursday, but starting it now works too, lol. Tell Amie I said hi when you go see her at uni! (Don't get lost this time)

Through the Veil

CHAPTER NINE

"Well?" Queen Deidre asked, looking at the young girl before her. The woman quickly bowed nervously. The room they were in was of dark grey stone, several torture devices attached to the walls, chains and sorts, and a raised flooring of concrete was at the front of the room where there was an old and foreboding throne crumbling in some parts. Sprawled across the chair was the Queen of the Sreain. Behind her was a strangely decorated tapestry portraying a battle scene. The room itself was barely lit in comfort from the several torches, the doorway leading to the other halls of their quarters.

"My Queen," Alys, the woman responsible for capturing Dommy in the first place, said as she swallowed hard.

"Where are the others?" Queen Deidre demanded, looking about the room noticing eleven of her best warriors missing.

"Destroyed, my Queen," Alys said.

Queen Deidre's eyes darted around the seven warriors before her in shock, before falling once again on her commander. She stood out of her chair, and paced to the side, holding her head in her chin pensively. She was dressed like her warriors, a forest green filmy skirt swirling jaggedly above her knees, brown riding boots covering her feet. Her top was of a halter top style, exposing her pale stomach, and allowing a small split revealing the center of her chest before came back together at the end of the top. There were strange designs of vines dancing up her left arm, and her long, straight fiery red hair was pulled back in a half ponytail, the part in encasing was pulled up to allow several flaming red pieces to stick into the air menacingly. Her red bangs gently brushed just above her dangerous yellow eyes. Her skirt swooshed around her, from her graceful movements. Finally, she turned to her warriors.

"Van Helsing has ruined too many of our plans," She said in her thick Transylvanian accent, although she seemed more like a person who had stepped out of the Amazon. "How are we to progress forward with him meddling in every business we concern ourselves with? No doubt he has taken refuge with the strangers?"

"Yes, My Queen," Alys said. "They appear to be with Ian Undoch."

"The fool of a boy?" Queen Deidre smirked, before a dark frown creased her ethereal face. "Then they stay at Valerius Manor, which we cannot enter. Do you expect us to complete our mission without …" Her voice trailed off, and she held her words.

"My Queen, we almost had them, but with _Van Helsing_," She sneered the word as if it were poison.

"Bother not. My troubled mind seeks reassurances. There are ways around these things. But we must be wary of what we say, for he is always listening. Troops forward!"

The females quickly formed a line before her, bowing their heads. Queen Deidre stepped ahead, ignoring the skull she crushed beneath her boots. She studied the women before her, each seemingly capable of a good fight, each trained to take on anything sent at them. And yet eleven out of eighteen was gone. She could not take what belonged to them with such a small army, and it would take too long to forge another. Damn Van Helsing and his interference. Damn him for all trouble he had caused throughout. And Damn him for any and all things he would commit.

Straitening her back to look regally on her subjects, she announced, "We shall come out victors. But we will need our company back. Send for Kael Vahn," She commanded. "We shall begin work of recuperating immediately."

"Yes, my Queen," Came the unanimous response.

AN: A short one, no doubt, but it's a filler chapter. Eh, what do you guys think of Queen Deidre? Did she seem good enough, or what? Please review (this chapter may be subject to altering and extending later on)


	11. Chapter Ten

AN: Alright, before thanks I figure I'll satisfy your curiosity's by telling you that yes, Anna and Dracula will eventually be in this story, just gonna take a little while to squeeze them in, lol. Moving on, thanks to Aradia-Hornbeam, HughJackmanFan, finally new reviewers, ghgfhg, vivalaROCK and Ithilwenn

vivalaROCK: Well, I think I answered your question (above : D)

ghgfhg: Eh … what?

Aradia-Hornbeam: Yes! My plan worked! The Queen DOES seem evil and menacing. But also as if she cares for her job, right? Don't all bad guys, though, LOL

Ithilwenn: No problem. I definitely see where you're coming from, though, so it didn't bother me at all. Hmm … Deidre and Drac, huh? That never crossed my mind. It definitely isn't gonna be a Dracula and Anna thing. Those bother me, you know? I mean, I can see the whole Dracula chasing after Anna thing cuz that's what he did in the movie, but Anna returning it doesn't seem right, oh well. As for romance, there's gonna be some later, but it will take a little while, sorry. I'll consider the Amanda and Carl thing, but I have to run it through with my 'supervisors', lol. Gotta see what my siblings think of the idea. I'm co-writing it with Dominick, so …

HughJackmanFan: Yeah, I know it was short, but I was anxious to get it out and couldn't think of how to extend it. But this is longer, right?

Through the Veil

CHAPTER TEN

Groaning angrily, Darey pushed Dommy off of the couch next to her. "Don't touch me," She snapped.

Manda hid a smirk as she quickly looked back at the book she was reading, Francis raised an inquiring eyebrow, Stefie began to laugh hysterically, and Justine joined in. Kaelin had wandered away from the room (more like stomped off) several moments before claiming she wanted to be alone, so it was just the six.

Dommy jumped up from the wooden floor, and took a mock fighting stance. "Bring it on," He said.

"Dommy she just said not to touch her, not she was going to rip your head off if you did," Justine said with a laugh. "God, I love that kid."

Amanda turned her book upside down, and then turned it sideways. "Alright, guys, who can read old fashion?"

Dommy rushed to her side as Darey sat up to try and peer at the book in Amanda's hand.

"Is that … Grimm's book of fairy tales?" She asked.

"Grimm? As in the Grimm reaper?" Dommy asked.

"No, stupid, as in the Grimm brothers. They collected legends across the land in the medieval ages and gathered them up into a book," Francis explained.

"Hey, let me see that," Justine said, standing quickly and taking the book from Amanda. She flipped through the pages, frowning. "Why am I trying to read?" She asked, putting the book on the table besides Amanda.

Stefie turned to the door thoughtfully. "How come we can't talk with them? They're obviously talking about us," She said, referring to Van Helsing, Carl and Ian who were in the drawing room next to them, most likely trying to make sense out of the whole situation.

Darey shrugged easily. "They're adults. Of course they're talking about us, and excluding us at that."

"Adults," Dommy said menacingly. "Argh, I say we go and totally wreak havoc on the people of this town while we can. Who's with me?"

"Dommy, sit down," Amanda said, pulling on his shirt so he stumbled down. "Those freaky women are out there, and in case you didn't notice, they're _after_ us."

"We don't know that," Dommy challenged. "I mean, for all we _do_ know, they just saw us with Van Helsing and figured us a threat!"

"Oh trust me, they were after us. They didn't even go near Van Helsing," Darey pointed out.

"Well obviously they're going to be after us," Francis said. "We just appear out of nowhere. They probably saw us as a small threat. We were with Van Helsing, and we're just teenagers. How could we be expected to defend ourselves? Just think about it, though. We could have told them about Van Helsing."

"Well that just sounds stupid," Stefie said. They watched as she got her all-knowing look on her face. "Just because we're teenagers doesn't mean we can't defend ourselves. Did you see me? I was out there kicking some _ass_!"

"You take karate," Justine pointed out.

"Well yeah, but I wasn't doing karate. Those women were just stupid," Stefie replied smugly.

"Okay, new plan," Dommy said. "This time, we go _back_ to the graveyard, and we wait for those bitchy -."

"What did Mom tell you about swearing?" Amanda cut in.

"Quiet, I'm being a genius. We get those evil ladies, and this time we – no, we don't tie them to the gravestones – we … throw them in the graves! What do you think?"

Everyone groaned or rolled their eyes at the idea. Couldn't Dommy take anything seriously? Stefie sat up. "Did you hear that?" She asked.

"Hear what?" Amanda asked.

Stefie ignored her, and then stood, crossed the room and pressed her ear against the door where Van helsing and the others supposedly were.

"What are you doing?" Justine exclaimed.

"Oh, why didn't _I_ think of that!" Dommy exclaimed, smacking his forehead before joining Stefie at the door.

"They just left the room," Stefie whispered.

"So why are you whispering?" Amanda whispered back.

"I dunno. It sounded James Bond," Stefie said loudly with a shrug.

"Aaron, John and I were playing James Bond before I disappeared!" Dommy exclaimed.

Darey frowned, and exchanged a glance with Francis. "You think they noticed we're missing by now?" She asked.

Francis swallowed. "Well I'm sure they noticed something's up. It's been almost a day now."

"Hey, let's not think about those things," Amanda said, sitting up quickly. She was more concerned at the moment as to how Kaelin's father would react to her not showing up at home, and maybe it was better if they stayed here for a while.

"Good point!" Stefie said with a grin. "Let's go follow Van Helsing and Carl. And I'm sore Justine wouldn't mind a glimpse of Mr. Undoch again."

Justine picked up a pillow and tossed it lightly at her friend. "I don't like Ian!"

"First name basis already? Justine, you shouldn't have," Darey said lightly.

"I don't like Ian!" Justine exclaimed.

"Oh come on, Justine, you talk in your sleep, and all I heard last night was, 'Ian, I'm madly in love with you'," Stefie joked.

"I don't talk in my sleep!" Now her face was bright red, and Amanda was sure she hadn't seen Justine look so embarrassed since the time … well, since forever.

"Oh my god, you like Ian!" Amanda exclaimed, snorting into a fit of laughter.

"The dictator?" Dommy asked. Then he started laughing as well.

"He's not a dictator," Francis said.

"Oh come on, if I didn't know better, I'd say it's Hitler all over again! Did you see the way he was gonna kill us?" Dommy demanded.

"He isn't like Hitler!" Justine exclaimed.

"Who's Hitler?"

Everyone turned back to the door where Stefie was standing in front of, to see Carl's head poking through.

"You don't know about Hitler?" Stefie asked in surprise.

"Hello, it's the eighteen hundreds. Hitler hasn't even come around yet," Amanda pointed out.

"You mean we traveled back in time?" Dommy asked excitedly. "So, could we put money in a bank, and then reclaim it when we get back home?"

Carl stepped inside, closing the door behind him. "What time period are you from, exactly?" He asked with interest.

"2005," They said in unison.

Carl's eyes widened in disbelief. "Why, the advancements alone must be …" He seemed flabbergasted as his mind attempted to grasp the idea wholly. "Oh, Amanda, you said you would tell me more of your world."

"No fair. You guys were out there talking for over an hour! What's going on?" Francis asked.

"A series of disagreements," Carl said with a sigh. "Mr. Undoch thinks it would be a good idea to just send you home, and Van Helsing believes the Sreain are after you, and you must be properly trained to handle such a situation."

Stefie smirked. "Did you hear that, Justine? Your boyfriend wants to send you home," She said.

"I'm going to get you!" Justine shrieked, jumping off the chair and racing for Stefie, being held back quickly by Darey and Francis. Carl stared at her, wide eyed.

"Let me get this straight," Dommy said. "She can try to pummel Stefie into a pulp, but she can't defend herself against supernatural creatures?"

"Stefie, supernatural creatures? Which do you think it gonna actually succeed in killing her?" Amanda grumbled, walking past him.

"I don't know. Stefie seems pretty evil," Dommy said, narrowing his eyes at her.

"You don't even know her," Francis muttered under his breath, only Justine hearing. She settled back on the floor.

"I'm calm, I'm calm. Alright … no more Ian jokes."

"But you said he was tall, dark, and -."

"Stefie?" Darey said.

"Yes?"

"Don't Just … don't."

"Carl, do you think we could go exploring?" Amanda asked, looking to the friar. He sat up with surprise.

"With those things out there? You should be terrified of the idea," He replied.

"Not outside. At least not yet. I mean the castle. I was checking it out earlier with Kaelin, but a lot of the doors are locked. If you take us, we'll talk more about the future," Amanda suggested.

Carl's eyes lit up a bit. "Well, I suppose I could get some of the keys," He said thoughtfully.

"Awesomosity!" Amanda exclaimed joyously. You guys wanna come?"

"I think I'm gonna go and harass Van Helsing," Dommy replied, looking devious.

"Well don't mention Anna, okay?" Amanda said. Dommy nodded, and then ran off.

"Should you really have done that?" Darey asked.

"He would have done it without my permission, anyways," Amanda replied. "You coming?"

"Nah, I think I'm going to try and gather some research. See what I could find out about these … shree-na's," She said, her eyes looking above her to where the library mist likely was.

"Research?" Carl asked with interest.

"Exploring?" Amanda reminded him.

"Right, right."

"I'll come," Justine said.

"Thank god," Amanda murmured under her breath, smiling thankfully at her friend.

"I'm going to the kitchen!" Stefie announced. "The food beckons me."

"I think I'll go with you," Francis replied.

"Cool!" So the two walked out.

"And she makes fun of me," Justine said, noticing the way Francis and Stefie had looked at each other. The way they _always_ seemed to look at each other, yet no one bothered to comment on.

"So are we going?" Amanda asked excitedly.

"I think I'll head out with you guys," Darey said. "You can show me to the library."

"Alright, let's go!"

An: See, there's some hints at romance, eh? The next six chapters will be short, but I plan on putting them each out at the same time, so … Till next!


	12. Chapter Eleven

AN: Thanks to VivalaROCK, Aradia-Hornbeam and Ithilwenn

VivalaROCK: I'm getting to putting Anna in, and it shouldn't take too long, hopefully. Just having a bit of trouble, lol. Uh, she should come in after about a total of … eight more chapters? Maybe nine, but I'm aiming for eight. Thanks for the review!

Aradia-Hornbeam: Isn't Dominick great. He decided to put that line in there, too. What _would_ Carl think of Hitler? Hmm … And as for the last thing … I'm updating now, lol. Thanks for the review!

Ithilwenn: Eh, good thing you don't want that in there. I couldn't bring myself to betray Van Helsing that way, hee. I think you're gonna love this one, a whole chapter dedicated to Dommy! LOL. Thanks for the review!

Through the Veil

CHAPTER ELEVEN

DOMMY

Dommy wandered aimlessly down the hall, attempting to find wherever Van Helsing had gone off to. His eyes took in all the portraits hanging on the wall with some interest. Then he stopped with a frown when he saw the monster hunter up ahead, staring at something. He quickened his pace and soon stood beside Van Helsing. "Hello!" He said cheerfully, drawing out the word. The tall man looked down with him, and gave him a not-quite-there smile.

"Hello," He replied.

Dommy glanced at what the man had been studying. Sure enough, it was a painting of Anna. "Isn't that the vampire lady?" He asked, recalling how similar she looked to Selene in 'Underworld'. Surprised, Van Helsing looked back at the boy. "What?" He demanded.

"The vampire lady. The one whose family was killed by some elder dude named Viper or something like that, and she was in love with the Lycan, Michael. I wouldn't know, because I didn't actually watch the movie, but Amanda told me the story repeatedly, so I think I've got the basics," Dommy explained.

Gabriel blinked. "You must have the wrong person," He finally said. "This was Anna."

"Oh! The lady who died that Amanda told me not to mention in front of you! Ha! I did it anyways. That aught to show her what I think of her stupid rules," Dommy said joyously. Then he noticed the way Van Helsing was looking at him. "Dude … you didn't _really_ like her, did you?"

Gabriel turned away, starting down the hall. "I'm not entirely certain if that is something one should discuss with a child," He said.

Dommy started walking quickly to catch up. "But I'm not a child! I'm eleven! I'm almost a pre-teen, you know. I know all about that sort of thing. My brother DJ, he's dating the psychotic neighbor girl. And my little brother Aaron, he likes one of his best friends, and he's only _ten_! Besides, I had a girlfriend myself, once. She dumped me for some kid who could spit milk out of his nose. Oh! And my brother Josh, he was totally digging on this girl in his school, who is a complete whore, and she -."

Van Helsing stopped walking, so that Dommy walked right into him. "What did you just say?" Van Helsing demanded, looking back at the younger boy.

Dommy frowned. "Okay, maybe she wasn't a whore, but she had a lot of boyfriends. Amanda and Kaelin said he just liked her because she had big breasts, but -."

"How can you discuss such parts of a woman so easily?" He demanded. "Have you no respect?"

Dommy looked down at himself in surprise. "You mean we're not supposed to talk about those sorts of things?" He asked, suddenly confused.

Van Helsing sighed angrily. "Of course not! There are things you just do not talk about. Not if you want to consider yourself an honorable human being."

"Well, maybe, but that shouldn't count for you, since you're not human," Dommy said.

"What?" Van Helsing demanded.

"Hey, I sat through the first fifteen minutes of that movie and you were going on about seeing battle scenes of the past. Either you aren't human yourself, or you're clairvoyant. And if you were _clairvoyant_, I'm sure Aliya wouldn't have died. Her name was Aliya, right?"

"Anna," Gabriel replied with agitation. "And I am very much human. I would also appreciate it if we could drop this subject."

"Oh, so talking about Alla -."

"Anna."

"Anna bothers you? Well why? How did she die, anyways? Amanda said something about a werewolf, but the only werewolf I remember was that prince guy. Hey! Did her brother kill her? Dude, that must _suck_! If my sister were to kill me, I'd be coming back from the dead, and I'd be all like, 'Yo, what'd you kill me for'?"

"Argh! Don't you stop talking?" Van Helsing demanded with frustration.

"My sister Kailyn says I talk too much, but what does she know – you never get to get a word in when she's talking. Hold on a minute. I remember what Amanda was going on about in the graveyard! She said _you_ killed Anna. Talk about crazy. Why would you kill someone, and then mourn them?"

Van Helsing turned to Dommy, and took a hold of his shirt and pulled him closer. He was so close, their noses were almost touching. "Have you ever seen a living creature die?" He demanded.

"I saw my brother's hamster die once," Dommy replied. "I also saw my Mom's cat die."

"Have you ever seen a human being die?" Van Helsing countered.

"Not lately," Dommy said uneasily.

"So then you have not killed someone?"

"I accidentally ran over a chipmunk with my bike, but I was really sorry afterwards."

"Do not speak of things you know nothing about. You don't know the guilt I feel when I kill someone."

"I don't know, I felt really bad about killing that chipmunk."

Van Helsing ignored the comment, and said, "Take what I say seriously! My job is to kill monsters, and I am _always_ the one standing there when they become the people they once were. All of you speak as if you understand, as if you could do it yourselves, but you will never be able to live with the guilt of so many lives on your hands. You will never realize what it is like to be the most wanted man in all of Europe, and yet I am still going. I've lost the only thing that could possibly be important, and you mock me."

Dommy's eyes widened with sudden sympathy. "That scary guy said something to you, didn't he? The Ian person. You aren't really mad at _me_, are you?"

Van Helsing let go of his collar, and started quickly away. Dommy threw his hands up in irritation, and quickly followed the hunter. "Wait a minute! Van Helsing! Hey! I'm talking to you."

Gabriel continued on, leaving Dommy forced to run after him. "Van Helsing!" He whined. He tugged on the monster hunter's coat. Van Helsing turned around and looked at him angrily.

"Hey, I didn't want to offend you," Dommy said with a smile. "You're obviously a very touchy person. So let's not talk about that stuff, okay? I actually came to see if you could teach me some really cool moves, you know? My brother Josh says you have these really cool weapons, and I wanna defend myself against those weird ladies, okay? It will take you mind off of things."

"I don't train children," Van Helsing said.

"Dude, I'm _eleven_! Doesn't anyone get that? Hey, where'd you get that hat from?" He jumped up, trying to pull the hat away from the hunter.

Gabriel pulled away, trying not to show his slight annoyance.

Dommy stopped, and studied his face. "You haven't been around kids much, have you? Well you know what, when we get Anna back, we'll get you a kid, okay?"

"Get Anna back?" Van Helsing asked with surprise. _I can bring her back_.

Dommy shrugged. "Yeah. I mean, there has to be _some_ way to at least get her soul or something. I'm no specialist in that sort of thing, but I'll bet you anything Darey would have something to say on the matter. So can we go play with swords and other pointy objects?"

Van Helsing frowned, but Dommy's silly antics had taken his mind off of the argument he and Ian Undoch had shared. So he finally consented. "Perhaps it will help you handle yourself in a situation like earlier today," He said.

"Alright! Hey, do you think we could get some … alcoholic beverages? Nothing like that old Transylvanian good stuff!"

"Children do not drink," Van Helsing said curtly.

Dommy pouted. "You mean you guys have that rule too? Man, I'm never gonna get to try it."

Van Helsing looked away with a small smile. There was just something likeable about the annoying child.


	13. Chapter Twelve

Through the Veil

CHAPTER TWELVE

KAELIN

With a sigh, Kaelin stepped out of the restricting doors of the manor and into the bright day. She almost regretted walking out on her only friends like that, but her frustration at everything around her convinced her that it was, of course, all their fault. After all, she would be safely at home perhaps begging Lydia for a small bit of marijuana if Amanda hadn't called her and asked her to come over.

And there was another stupid thing she had gone and done. She knew very well what Amanda wanted when she had called up. What person in their right mind wouldn't have known. Amanda was always very protective of her brother when it came down to it. And by the way DJ had been bawling his eyes out when she had left, it was a most definite that Amanda would manage to get involved. So the question came up again … why had she agreed to go? Because there had been that pull. She wanted to go up, believe it or not. She wanted to talk with Amanda about it, and she wanted to tell her everything. Even the things she shouldn't.

Her mother's death had left a big impact on her. Her older sister, Mildread, was off being a big psychiatrist in a completely different state, and Kaelin was often stuck home alone. Her father worked a lot, almost every night. He was bossy, ruthless, he thought he could control Kaelin. The worst part was that most of the time he could. He told her to do something, and she would do it. No hesitation. Behind his back, of course, she did whatever she wanted. Maybe she just wanted to spite him. Not that he ever knew. He wasn't home enough to know, but sometimes she hoped he would. She waited for the day of confrontation – the day that would never come. Of course, it was one of the reasons she was still friends with Amanda – why she had stuck with DJ for so long.

Oh, she really had liked DJ … in the beginning. He was a nice kid. He always treated Kaelin right. He never pushed her, never tried to make her do anything she didn't want to – even when it came to watching a show or playing a game. He would give her little gifts here and there, when he could. He was always very loyal to her, but he was too nosy. At least, that's what Lydia said. Lydia, the girl down the street, knew everything about a dysfunctional family. She had three half siblings, and her father was some druggy out in prison. Her mother was, surprise, surprise, a hooker at the local bar. Lydia had a great sense of adventure, and it was because of Lydia that Kaelin found ways to relieve herself from all her problems. Lydia had given her the first pack of cigarettes which quickly worked their way into a habit. It felt great. She could relieve her stress, and it was so calming.

Yes, she knew how dangerous cigarettes were. She saw how her Father had acted when he was using them, and he was even worst after he had quit. She knew Manda's parents smoked; saw how Mr. Bahrens couldn't even brush his teeth without having a coughing fit. She knew how Mrs. Bahrens had trouble sleeping at night, getting coughing fits. She knew about all the troubles Amanda's grandmother was going through now from smoking. There was also the fact that Amanda's paternal grandfather had died from lung cancer. Kaelin's own grandmother had lung cancer now, and the doctors were estimating another year at the most. Oh yes, Kaelin had seen first hand the troubles that smoking brought. But it was so good. It was so good, and she had wanted more. So Lydia had gotten her more. Kaelin had only taken the weed twice, but each time she loved the rush, the feeling that accompanied it. For a little while, there was nothing. Maybe it wasn't true happiness, but Kaelin didn't want true happiness, she didn't want to be cared for, not really.

So she had dumped DJ. After all, Ray had asked her out, and Ray had everything. He was cute and … well perhaps it was all the boy really had. Truth be told, Ray Louchello was a moron, a hopeless addict, a complete jerk, and he did have more than one girl. But Kaelin was up for it. She didn't want a guy who was going to treat her right, she wanted fun. Lydia told her Ray was a great guy. Lydia was jealous that Ray had asked her out. Lydia was like her, and that was what she wanted. She wanted someone who understood, and Lydia understood. Ray said he understood, too. They all understood, and she didn't need those Bahrens and their 'perfect' lives, those Bahrens who claimed to know what she was going through.

Yet she had gone down when Amanda had called. In a way, there was a sort of safety blanket with Amanda. She had been good friends with the girl since the Bahrens had moved onto their street. They had been close, and Amanda had tried everything to help when Kaelin's problems began to escalade. Her mother's death wasn't too much of a shock. She had been pretty much a vegetable for the past three years anyways. She wasn't surprised, but she was shattered. What she couldn't tell Amanda she could tell her Mom, and now she was alone. Now, she had gone so far that she couldn't even begin to tell Amanda what had been going on. DJ had known. Oh yes, he'd known very well what was going on between Kaelin and Lydia. Kaelin even suspected he knew about her getting drunk that night at Lydia's. No doubt Josh had told him. Kaelin hated that about Josh, he never knew when to mind his own business, and was always butting in. Even snagging notes from Kaelin to Lydia and vice versa, just to learn more. And he never gave up. Kaelin was surprised he hadn't begun jumping with joy when DJ told him he and Kaelin were split. Instead, he had looked Kaelin in the eye, and said, "So this is where you want to be? Five years, I give you. By then, you'll be knocked up with your second child, a guy who could care less about you and the kid, and probably living off of welfare. You really did have a lot of potential, Kaelin. A lot."

Kaelin hated the way he had looked at her as he said it. It was as if he had known. He was so sure of what he said, so positive. He didn't even blink when he said it. _Well, Joshie boy, we'll give it five years, put your prediction to the test_, Kaelin thought bitterly.

She bent down and picked up a rock, juggling it between her fingers thoughtfully. Just seeing that look again over in her mind. Just picturing it before her made her so mad. "Stupid Josh," She grumbled. She took in the scenery before her, and her thoughts boiled angrily. She was stuck! Stuck here with all these hypocrites who knew nothing.

"Nothing!" Kaelin screeched. She jerked her arm back, and then heaved the rock as far as she could. The stone clattered against something, and then there was a crash. Kaelin blinked, and then uncertainly followed the direction of the rock, into an old brush. There, hidden behind all the brush and such was an old house. It appeared to be an old shed, surprisingly. Kaelin took several uncertain steps, studying the old structure, and then grimaced. If she wanted to check out this old place, she would. No one could tell her otherwise. She started forward and pushed open the door to the little place. Looking around, she quickly realized it wasn't a shed at all, but an old house. There was a single bed in the room, and a shelf or two on the walls. It was a tiny little place, but it seemed cozy. There was a single window, which Kaelin dutifully noted she had broken when she threw the rock. She glanced around the obviously deserted old place, and then noticed the rock lying beside the bed. Bending down, she quickly took up the rock in her hand. While on the floor, she glanced under the bed and was a little shocked to notice an old jewelry box lying there.

Eyebrows knit in confusion, she reached a nervous hand towards the box and pulled it towards her. Once in her grasp she stood, tossed the stone back out the window, and went to settle back on the bed. Of course, being as old as it was, it just sunk to the ground. Kaelin quickly jumped back up, and chose to settle on the floor instead. She cracked open the box, and looked. Inside were several different articles of jewelry, a bible, and a bundle of papers tied together by a bit of string. Kaelin chose not to look through the papers, or even look at the book, but instead pulled out one of the necklaces. It was a pretty one, an amulet it appeared. With a gold chain, and a little golden token dangling from it. The token itself seemed to have a picture of a saint engraved into it. Kaelin held it in her hands, studying the workmanship. Turning it over, she read to words, "I am always with you."

Kaelin licked her lips and then frowned. What did that mean? Irritated, Kaelin turned the necklace over in her hand. It was a nice necklace, there was no doubt. And in Kaelin's mind, she wanted to try and make sense out of the inscription. She closed the box and put it back under the bed. Then she stood, placed the necklace in her pocket, and darted out of the little building, a strange fear of being caught overwhelming her.


	14. Chapter Thirteen Revised

Through the Veil

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

STEFIE AND FRANCIS

Stefie blinked, and then pointed her thumb to the right. "Maybe the kitchen was in that direction," She said.

Francis snorted. "Do you even know the direction we came from?" He asked.

"Well do you?" Stefie replied. Then she flopped down on the flooring, her legs spread out and her arms laying uselessly between then, resembling a rag doll. She looked up at Francis. "Aren't there supposed to be people here?"

"Didn't you watch the movie?" Francis grumbled, reaching out and pulling her back up.

"Well yeah," Stefie said cynically. "But you know as well as I do that they rarely showed the manor. For all we knew, there could have been a ton of servants … just off in different rooms of the house. I can see the whole 'don't stay there at night, the vampires want the gypsies'. But in the _day_!"

"In case you didn't catch on, Stefie, Dracula doesn't exist anymore," Francis pointed out.

"Exactly! So obviously there should be more servants out and about," Stefie said, smiling widely at her friend before her stomach gave a loud grumble. She frowned, looking down. "I need a bagel. A nice, toasted bagel with cream cheese, and … and … ooh, what about coffee? Hey, do you think we could get a toasted bagel with cream cheese and coffee to go?" She asked.

Francis burst out laughing, looking at Stefie happily. "I don't think they have toasters here," He said.

"Well, you don't know that," Stefie countered. "This _is_ an alternate universe."

"And how come you and the others are so sure we're in an alternate universe?" Francis asked.

"Because women – especially women of Anna's stature – wouldn't exactly be welcomed wearing pants. Or fighting. Or running a small scary town full of people bent on killing you. In fact, if you want to explain it technically, there weren't monsters back in the 1800's, either," Stefie said in one breath.

Francis laid his head against the wall. "Yeah. We couldn't have traveled through time."

"Don't think on it. Let's just have fun. Hey, do you think they have half moons in the kitchen?" Stefie asked.

"Here's a question, do you think we'll ever _find_ the kitchen?" Francis countered.

"Oh shoo. Come on Mr. Smarty Pants," Stefie hoisted herself up, and then bent down to grasp Francis' hand as well. He grinned and allowed the shorter of the two to pull him up. She grinned back, and then quickly started skipping down the hall. "Onward, we charge! To the kitchen, we renew our search!"

Francis looked down at his feet, hiding his amused expression as he fiddled with his shirt, pretending to wipe something off. When he looked back up, his face was his usual dull and serious look. "You're going the wrong way!" He called down to her.

"Shows how much you know!" Stefie called back, disappearing around the corner up ahead. She poked her head back out. "I can _smell_ the food from here."

Francis jogged to catch up. When he arrived, he sniffed the air hesitantly. Then his face recoiled in disgust. "You must be crazy if you think that's food."

"Oh, it's food alright," Stefie said with a sly smile, sniffing the air joyously. "It's limburger cheese. I could recognize that smell in an instant. Once, Mike brought some home from work so that Debbie and I could try it. It stunk up the kitchen for ages afterwards." Debbie and Mike were her older siblings, Stefie being the youngest in her family.

"Is that what that smell was?" Francis teased. "I thought it was just Mike."

Stefie playfully shoved him. Then she looked thoughtful. "If there's limburger cheese, it must mean there's a kitchen nearby."

"Either that or it means Mike somehow found a way to transport himself here," Francis said mockingly.

Stefie nudged him again, not bothering to hide her happy beam.

"Alright," Francis surrendered as the two stumbled down the long corridor. "If you could travel to Van Helsing's world, what would you do?"

"I'm already here!" Stefie exclaimed.

"Fine. But if you could meet any of the characters – besides VH – who would it be?"

"Well what about Carl?"

"No Carl or Van Helsing."

"Well that leaves a limited slew of characters," Stefie objected.

"Stef," Francis said with a groan.

"I guess it would be Dracula."

"Really?"

"Well yeah. I mean, the guy is a classical book _genius_! And he's a vampire. How can you pass up the chance to meet him?" Stefie asked.

"But Darey says Mike is a vampire," Francis said. Mike may be Stefie's older brother, but he was also Darey's unusual (and a little eccentric) boyfriend. Darey and Mike were very close, and nothing could come between the two. It had been simply a joke that Mike was a vampire, after a 'senior's only' Halloween party the gang had attended where he'd dressed as one, and pretended to suck Darey's blood, but Francis had missed out on the fun that night, and always thought Darey was serious in her teasing.

Stefie sighed. "Francis," She said, "You can be such an idiot sometimes."

"Alright, I'll grant you that one, but could you be more specific. Why Dracula? He was evil!"

"You're evil."

Francis frowned. "I'm not evil. I just plan to take over the world."

"And what did you think Dracula was doing? Besides … he could actually do it."

"Are you saying my weapons of mass destruction won't aid in my taking over the world?" Francis demanded.

"You mean your drawings of guns and spaceships? Ooh, that would be fun to see! You holding up the piece of paper to the president, and commanding him to turn all of New York over to you!" Stefie began to giggle.

"Okay, first thing – I wouldn't ask for New York. Taxes are ridiculously high. Second, why go to the president, when I can go to the Queen of England and demand she hand it over to me! Third, one day they won't be just drawings," Francis told her.

Stefie looked at him, and then blinked. "Sure." She said.

"You know, sometimes, I get the feeling you and Darey don't like me," Francis grumbled.

"Oh, come on Francis! You know we love ya!" Stefie exclaimed. "It's just a love-hate relationship. One minute we want you around, the next we wanna tear you … apart!"

Hearing her voice seem to disappear and then a scream quickly follow it, Francis turned to see Stefie falling through a secret door in the floor. He stared in surprise, and then rushed to where the latch of the secret door had just closed. "Stefie?" He called in a panic.

"Oomph!" Came the reply.

"Stef? Where are you?" Francis asked, kneeling on the floor.

"Eh, in the floor," Stefie replied. She looked up at the ceiling, rubbing her behind in irritation.

"Well what happened?" Francis asked.

"Um, I walked on the floor, and we were talking about … hmm, I don remember."

"Stefie," Francis groaned.

"I just told you. I fell through the floor. I must have activated a trapdoor," Stefie replied. She turned her eyes away and took in her surroundings. She was in a small room, seemingly made of concrete. The room appeared to simply be a closet, and Stefie couldn't help but wonder if there was any real purpose for the room at all.

"Well what do you see?" Francis asked.

"Nothing. It's just a little room."

"Is it dark in there?"

"No. Actually, there's some light coming in," Stefie replied.

Frowning, Francis pressed his ear to the floor. "Well where's the light coming from?"

"Uh …" Stefie shielded her eyes and moved over to the iron bits where the light was carefully coming in from. It appeared to be an old vent for the room before her. Stefie blinked. "Francis, I think this room was used for spying," She whispered, turning back to the ceiling.

"Spying?" Francis repeated. "Well can you get out of there?"

Stefie looked back at the vent thoughtfully. "I think so," She said slowly. She reached out, and pressed her fingers against the paneling.

"Anything?" Francis asked.

"I'm still looking," Stefie replied, rolling her eyes. Above her, Francis did the same. Suddenly, Stefie's fingers wrapped around what appeared to be a little handle.

"Success!" She whispered to herself happily. She took the handle greedily, and turned back to tell Francis she found a way out.

"Did you hear me?"

Stefie frowned, and then turned back to the vent. Finally, realization sunk in that this whole time, there had been people in the room next to her, and they had been carrying on a conversation. How had she not heard that?

"Yes, I heard you," The other voice replied angrily, a woman, most likely.

Stefie peered through the holes in the vent, and saw Ian turned sideways, facing the opposite wall, where the other voice had come from. Stefie leaned over trying to catch a glimpse of whoever he was talking to, and caught a glimpse of dark hair, before the person stepped out of view altogether. Stefie thought carefully, running through all the people she knew who had dark hair, but realized none of them had the same tone as the mysterious woman in the room next to her.

"Stef?" Francis asked.

"Shh!" Stefie hissed, before turning her attention back to the scene before her. Francis sat up with irritation and leaned against the wall, waiting for Stefie to begin speaking to him.

"So what are you going to do?" Ian demanded.

"I'm going to stay out of sight until further notice," The woman said spitefully.

"If you do anything to jeopardize this mission -."

"I got it!"

"Don't get that tone with me."

"And don't you begin to think you're any better than I am. You may have this town wrapped around your little finger, but you and I both know it won't be long before -." She stopped, and Stefie took in a nervous breath.

"I know," Ian grumbled, turning away with his arms crossed over his chest. He sighed, running his hand through his hair. "I know. We both have too much riding on all this to risk it now. You better know what you're doing."

"Don't you worry about that," The woman replied. "Leave the kids to me."

"Fine … fine. You're dismissed." A few moments later a door slammed shut. Ian stared after it for a moment, and then walked across the room to pull back a bit of wall paper and slip away.

Stefie waited, holding her breath. _Ian's up to something_, was the first thing that popped into her head. She stumbled away from the vent and looked up to the ceiling.

"Francis!" She called in a whisper.

Francis pushed away from the wall and stumbled over to the floor where Stefie had disappeared, accidentally tripping over a small switch lying in the floor. Surprisingly, the floor opened before him, and he fell through, the latch quickly closing behind him.

"Francis?" The mentioned looked up to see Stefie staring at him.

"Stefie," Francis replied dully.

"Francis?"

"Stefie," Now there was a hint of annoyance.

"Francis!" Stefie pulled him into a hug, and then looked back towards the vent. "Francis, Ian's the enemy."


	15. Chapter Fourteen

Through the Veil

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

JUSTINE, AMANDA, AND CARL

Amanda followed quickly after Carl, glancing back every few seconds to see Justine gazing at the walls ahead, not really paying attention to what was going on. They had taken Darey to the library just moments before, and now Carl was beginning his tour of the old manor. Amanda couldn't wait to actually see the entire place, instead to the little bit shown in the movie. She had never been in a castle before, or a place of architecture such as this, and was very much excited to finally be visiting one. What put a damper on the glorious situation was Justine's silence, and obvious lack of attention. Amanda slowed to a stop, and then studied Justine. "What's wrong?" She asked in a whispered voice, so Carl wouldn't notice.

"Hmm?" Justine asked with surprise. "Oh. I was just thinking," She said quickly.

"I see that, but about what?" Amanda asked.

Justine shrugged. "A lot of things, actually. There's just so much to possibly _begin_ to think about," She said.

Carl stopped ahead, and looked back at the girls. "Is everything okay?" He asked.

"No, it's not," Justine replied. She sighed as Carl stepped up to them.

"What seems to be the problem?" He asked, feeling at Justine's head. The girl jerked away, and then laughed. "I'm not sick, Carl," She said.

The friar looked away with a bit of embarrassment.

"So what were you thinking about?" Amanda asked.

"Home," Justine admitted.

"Home," Amanda echoed. "Not really what I'd want to be thinking about."

"I know, but I'm worried. I was supposed to take Sean to the playground. My Mom will be furious that I didn't take him."

"Is that what you're worried about," Amanda asked with a chuckle, thinking of Justine's adorable little brother, Sean. Carl also joined in.

"No," Justine said with a sigh. "There are a lot of things. I hate it here, Manda. I'm not gonna lie and say I do."

"Didn't really expect you to," Amanda replied softly.

"So what else is it that troubles you?" Carl asked.

Justine laughed. "I'm stuck in a story, Carl. I'm talking to a fictional character. Isn't anyone else bothered by that? Plus, there were things – you remember the graveyard? They were trying to _kill_ us!"

"Actually," Amanda said. "I think they were just trying to capture us."

"Manda, I didn't go to see the movie. I didn't really want to see the movie, even when we got to get it. For all we know, that stupid DVD could have been responsible for us coming here!"

"It was a DVD, for crying out loud. Besides, wouldn't it have done it before if it was 'responsible'?" Amanda countered.

"What bothers me the most about all this, is that we don't even know how we got here," Justine said darkly.

"Perhaps it was all the, eh, buzz," Carl put in.

Both girls looked at him in confusion. "What?" Justine asked.

Carl fidgeted. "Well, Amanda mentioned several, eh, electronical things which would create a … buzz and this buzz joined together to create a passage to our world. Perhaps this DPD you mentioned got all caught up in it," Carl said, now sounding greatly excited.

Amanda frowned. "That won't work for two reasons. First, it's a DVD, Carl, not a DPD. Second, the only electronical thing I have in my room is a CD player, and it wasn't even plugged in. But congratulations on listening. I think you have a pretty good understanding about my world."

Justine sighed. "So how did we get here, Manda? Is – is this just some really twisted dream?" She asked.

"I sure hope not," Carl said. "That would mean none of this were real, and I don't know about you, but being real is rather delightful."

Amanda started snickering, and despite herself, Justine joined in. "You're such a dweeb," She said.

Carl turned away (his cheeks a bright red) and pretended to study the mural on the wall.

Suddenly, Justine's face lit up. "What if we were summoned here?"

Amanda blinked. "Come again."

"Well think about it! Perhaps someone summoned us here. You said yourself that anything could be possible in this world. Maybe someone brought us here for a reason. I'll bet you anything those people, the Sreain, I bet they know who did!"

Carl frowned. "Well why would someone summon you?" He asked, looking thoughtful.

"And who?" Amanda added.


	16. Chapter Fifteen

Through the Veil

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

DAREY

Darey groaned, burying her face in her hands as she put away another book. So far, every book that she found mentioned something about Dracula, but nothing whatsoever about the Sreain and she was beginning to get a headache. Why couldn't they have the internet here. That would make everything so much easier. She had way too many books to search through, as well. If she could just get anything, even something about what they did. Anything would be better than nothing, which was all she seemed to be finding. Grunting, she pulled out two more volumes and threw them on the table before her. Oh yes, right now she was wishing she had a computer.

Darey huffed into a seat and pulled open the back of the first book. How could Carl put up with all this? She quickly ran her fingers down the list in the index, and found nothing about the Sreain. These dead ends were beginning to drive her crazy! She took the second book and did the same, still nothing. Rubbing her eyes, Darey rested her head against the desk top. After a few moments of just relaxing, she reached over and pulled out another book. This time, she searched through the beginning of the book, turning page after page and studying the beautifully drawn pictures. There were pictures of the manor itself, surprisingly; pictures of the village, there were even pictures of the villagers. One was of a woman with her young child, the child reminding Darey fondly of her three year old sister Lailey – all pictures were sketched into the book, of course. Smiling, she turned the page again, and stared. If she didn't know any better, the picture was a rough drawing of Van Helsing and Dracula.

"No way," Darey said, shaking her head. She glanced around the room, as if someone was watching her, and then carefully pulled the picture out of the book. This was definitely something to ask Stefie about later. She continued looking through the pages, finding no more pictures of Van Helsing or Dracula, unfortunately. She closed the book and then turned around. She reached to pull out the last book on the row, and noticed that at the very back of the shelf there was a small book. She quickly pulled both out and set them on the table. The smaller of the two appeared to be a journal. Darey gently moved it to the side and began to look through the other book. Frowning, she quickly realized it was just a dictionary of sorts. After seeing nothing on the Sreain in the book, she closed it and turned back to the journal.

Back at home, she lived with a bunch of cousins and her little sister Lailey, and she understood the idea of privacy. It was why she just wanted to spend some time on her own. So the debatable question was did she open the book and read through it? Read through someone else's secrets? If Stefie had been there, she would have done it without a doubt. Amanda and Dommy, too. Darey herself had a problem with such an invasion, and it just didn't seem right. However, there was a chance this book held the keys to this new enemy, and in case that was so, it needed to be done. Darey pulled open the cover of the little book, and quickly noticed 'Adriana Cardei' scrawled across the first page. She turned it over, and began to read.

AN: In case you guys noticed, it did mention some bits from the gang's life before, and that's what I wanted. I just wanted you guys to see the way they were back in our world, kay? That's why I mentioned the families and stuff. Stefie has two older siblings, Debbie and Mike. Kaelin has an older sister, Mildread. Francis is an only child, Justine is in the middle with her brother Sean being the youngest, and her older sister Margaret as the oldest, and Darey lives with a bunch of cousins, but has a little sister named Lailey. No, the families aren't important at all; I just thought I'd give you guys some back ground. Also, sorry this last one is short, but I was impatient to get it out.


	17. Chapter Sixteen

AN: Thanks to Aradia-Hornbeam, Fortune Zyne, and Ithilwenn

Aradia-Hornbeam: Yea, but a lot of the mysteries won't be revealed for a long time, lol. Things are just gonna get weirder and weirder. I'm glad you thought the Dommy chapter was funny. It's what we were aiming for. Originally, Dommy was gonna get Van Helsing drunk, and then Dommy would bring up the whole Anna thing, but then I told Dommy that even the idea of him drunk was just not right, lol. So we stuck in the line of him asking for the alcohol instead. Girl, you gotta get updating! I can't wait to read more of your story. And thanks for the review!

Fortune Zyne: Yeah, Dracula's gonna be in this story. In a few chapters, lol. It shouldn't be much longer, I promise! As for the Kaelin thing, yeah, sadly. I over-exaggerated some of the stuff in that chapter, but there's a basic outline of her life. It's sad, too. Thanks for the review!

Ithilwenn: Hee hee. I'll try to make it good, but that's up to you if it turns out that way or not, lol. Ugh, I'm sorry, all you Anna fans. Its gonna be a few more chapters until she shows. Not gonna say how many, cuz that will ruin it, but she, along with Dracula, shall be arriving shortly. Just gotta be patient with me, lol. I was hoping you'd like the Dommy chapter. Thanks for the note about the chapters. If you read Chapter Thirteen Revised you'll see the missing chapter – Stefie and Francis. Thanks for the review!

Through the Veil

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Dommy jumped to the side, aiming his sword at Van Helsing. "Ha, ha!" He exclaimed joyously. "I've got you trapped."

Van Helsing smirked, and then somehow moved his feet around and had Dommy cornered in an instance. Dommy threw down his sword in frustration. He placed his hands up and twisted his face in an attempt to look threatening. "Bring it on," He said, his voice low in the back of his throat so that it came out in a growl. Van Helsing reached out, wrapped his fingers around Dommy's small wrist, and flipped him over his back. Dommy landed on his feet on the other side. He turned around as did Van Helsing, and the two looked each other in the eye.

"That was awesome!" Dommy finally said, throwing his hands gleefully into the air. "It was like, whoosh! And then the air – did you see me go? Awe, that's even better than when Josh tried to do it! Oh. That is so _cool_! Oh, do it again!"

"Yes, that was rather impressive," Someone said from behind Dommy. The small boy blinked, as Van Helsing stared ahead silently. Turning around, Dommy looked to see Ian.

"Oh, it's just you," He said, letting out a nervous breath. "I thought it was somebody actually threatening."

Ian raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Threatening?" He asked, some amusement sparkling in his golden eyes. "Now you're waiting for the enemy?"

"Well, I just thought …," Dommy's voice faltered off, and he looked back at the hunter.

"We're just training," Van Helsing replied.

"So I see. Swords, though? Do you think that's going to help the boy?"

"Hey, it was my idea!" Dommy exclaimed. "You're just jealous because you didn't think of it earlier."

Ian looked at him with confusion. "Excuse me?" he asked.

"You heard me. You're jealous because I thought of sword training first," Dommy said, sticking his bottom lip out in an almost pout like gesture.

"That doesn't even make sense," Ian snapped.

"You're too uptight," Dommy said, now smiling. "You wanna come fight with VH and I?"

"VH?" Ian asked, looking to the older man.

Van Helsing frowned, looking at him. Dommy studied the two. "Geeze guys, don't try to hide the tension," He said sarcastically.

"Where are the other children?" Ian asked.

Dommy, seeing Van Helsing look surprised and unknowing at the question, Dommy said, "They're supposed to be back in that room you guys told us to wait in while you argued about sending us home or not," He said bluntly.

"Dominick," Van Helsing said warningly, looking at the little boy.

"Well that's what you guys were doing, wasn't it?"

"That really isn't any of your concern," Ian said, looking darkly at the boy. "And for your knowledge, you are incorrect. I was just in the foyer, and it has been deserted."

"Oh, right. I think Amanda mentioned something about exploring with Carl. Maybe the others went with her," Dommy suggested.

"Exploring?" Ian asked. "Why would they do something as …" His voice trailed off quickly.

The door burst in seconds later – Ian just managed to jump out of the way – and Stefie with Francis appeared there. "Van Helsing! Dommy! Thank god we found you! You are not going to believe what we found out!" Stefie exclaimed, rushing inside.

Ian took in an irritated breath, and then pushed the door so it would close. Stefie and Francis both jumped and turned around.

"Oh." Stefie finally said. "Ian. Umm … hi?"

"What's this all about?" Van Helsing asked, getting the duo's attention again.

"What?" Stefie asked.

"Did you not just come in here saying you found something?" Van Helsing asked.

"Oh. Umm, no?" Stefie said.

"Stefie," Dommy said, shaking his head.

"Honestly," Ian said with disapproval.

"Why would you come in here claiming you found something, and then say you didn't?" Van Helsing demanded.

"I forgot?" Stefie asked, looking to Francis.

"It's nothing, really," He said quickly. "Stefie and I found out that there's another floor to the manor! Isn't that fascinating?"

"Amazing," Ian muttered dully.

Stefie and Francis both eyed him with suspicion, which he didn't miss, and then they walked over to Dommy. "What's going on here?" Stefie asked, looking at the weapons.

"Van Helsing and I are bonding. You know, so he'll know how to train his kids!" Dommy exclaimed.

Ian sat up with interest. "Mr. Van Helsing never mentioned children," He said.

"When did this happen?" Francis asked, exchanging a look with Stefie, who simply shrugged.

"I don't have children," Van Helsing said with irritation.

"Then why did the young one -."

"Well he's gonna have children someday, isn't he?" Dommy asked.

"Can the left hand of god even _have_ children?" Francis asked.

"You think they put Anna in the movie just for plot device?" Stefie whispered. "If there can be a love interest, there can be children."

"Anna died, Stef," Francis said.

"Which is why we're going to get Anna back," Dommy said loudly, interrupting the two. They looked down and saw him standing right at their feet.

"That's an impossible proposition," Ian said angrily.

"Shouldn't you be somewhere else?" Stefie asked, narrowing her eyes at him.

"Are you going to say he should be off playing with Justine?" Dommy asked.

"No!" Both Francis and Stefie exclaimed fearfully.

Van Helsing suddenly studied the two. "Are you alright?" He asked.

"I'm fine," The two insisted in unison. They looked at each other, both blushing, and then looked away.

Ian's eyes darkened. "Where have you two been?"

"Oh, we've been … just around," Stefie said, giving him a reassuring grin.

"Where are the others?" Van Helsing asked.

"Darey's doing research. Amanda, Carl, and Justine went exploring. Kaelin just sort of went off on her own and … oh, the rest of us are here!" Stefie said, looking around the room.

"Actually, Darey's done doing research," Dommy said, pointing to the window where Darey had just walked by.

"Oh thank god, someone sane," Francis muttered, earning a glare from Ian and Van Helsing. Dommy just sort of shrugged, and Stefie smiled at him, pretending she didn't understand a word he had said.

"Darey!" She called, going to the window. The raven haired girl turned around to see Stefie practically hanging out the window. Shaking her head with a laugh, she walked over to her.

"Wassup?" She asked.

"I need to talk to you," Stefie whispered in her friend's ear, before being pulled back in by Francis. "Stefie, there's a door right here," He said, pointing to the patio door.

"Why would anybody put doors in an armory?" Dommy wondered out loud.

"I moved the armory here after I moved in," Ian said, stepping forward as Van Helsing unlocked the latch and let Darey slide in. "I enjoy the sunlight."

"You enjoy the sunlight? Since when do ev -." Francis quickly kicked Stefie in the heal before she could go any further. Darey studied her best friends with confusion.

"Okay," She said.

"You shouldn't be out there," Van Helsing told her sharply.

"Oh, I was just looking for Kaelin," Darey said. "I saw her walking around outside when I looked through the window. I was going to tell her it was stupid to be out there." She stopped, looking at every face in the room. "What's going on here?"

"Van Helsing was training me!" Dommy said proudly, smiling at Darey. He moved closer. "You wanna see?"

"Eat poison," Darey replied seriously, giving him a gentle shove. Dommy took it naturally, and walked back over to where he had been standing.

"Stefie and I were looking for the kitchen, and we came in here," Francis said.

"I was actually looking for Van Helsing," Ian spoke up. "I was hoping to speak with you."

"Not now," Van Helsing replied.

Ian took in a frustrated breath. "It's about the attack today."

"We've spoken about it," Van Helsing said.

"There was another one. Not too long ago. A man disappeared when he was out gathering water," Ian said.

"Well how could you know that?" Stefie demanded.

Ian swallowed. "Because a rider from town just came and informed me," he said through clenched teeth. "Van Helsing, this is urgent."

"I must agree," Van Helsing said with a sigh. Can I trust you four to remain in the manor?"

"Can you teach an old dog new tricks?" Darey asked.

Van Helsing and Ian looked at her with confusion, and Darey smirked. "Yes," She told them.

"If you'll excuse me, then," Van Helsing said, following Ian out the door.

"What's that in your hand?" Dommy asked; reaching for the small book before Stefie and Francis could get a chance to speak.

"This?" Darey asked with surprise. She pulled the small leather journal out of her back pocket and showed it to Dommy. "It's an old journal I found in the library."

"Whose is it?" Stefie asked, stepping forward.

"It belonged to some woman named Adriana Cardei. I haven't gotten much from it lately. Just that she lived a really long time ago, here in the village," Darey replied, tucking the journal away again. "No luck finding the kitchen, then?"

"Not yet," Francis said, looking pointedly at Stefie.

"Is there something you guys aren't telling me?" Darey asked, raising her eyebrows.

Dommy looked between the teenagers in the group who were now looking at him. "Oh come on!" He exclaimed. "You're holding out because _I'm_ here?"

When he received no answer, he threw his hands up. "Fine, I can take a hint! I'm out of here. Don't need me around, no you don't!" He declared, stomping out of the room.

After several moment of staring at the door, Darey turned to Stefie and Francis. "So what's going on?"

"Later," Stefie said. "When we don't have to worry about anyone listening to us."

"I wasn't listening!" Dommy called from behind the closed door.

Francis looked at Darey, who was rolling her eyes. "Alright," She whispered, coming closer to her friends. "How about tonight, after everyone's gone to bed?"

"We should tell Amanda and Justine," Stefie said.

"What about Kaelin?"

"I doubt we'll get her to come out of her free will," Francis said darkly.

"It's agreed then," Stefie whispered. "Tonight, after everyone else has gone to bed. We'll meet in the foyer we were in earlier. Make sure you tell the others."

"I can tell Justine and Amanda," Darey suggested.

"Okay. Don't fall asleep – this is important," Stefie said.

"I got it, I got it," Darey said.

"So midnight, the foyer?"

"Check," Stefie said with a grin.

"This better be important."

"Don't worry. It is," Francis said.

"Well if Francis is sure, then it must be," Darey joked.

"Ha, ha," Francis said sarcastically, looking darkly at Darey.

"Are you guys done in there?" Dommy called from the other side of the door.

All three rolled their eyes, and then walked out of the room, plans set for later that night when all would be discussed.


	18. Chapter Seventeen

AN: Wow, ONE review for the last chapter. You guys make me sick. LOL. Just kidding. Obviously I'll just have to make this chapter more interesting! Thanks to my lone reviewer, Ithilwenn

Ithilwenn: You REALLY want to know? You really, _really_ want to know? Well you'll just have to read further to find out!

Through the Veil

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Many nights Van Helsing had fallen asleep – whether in a bed, on the ground, in a carriage – but many times he had fallen asleep. During these nights of troubled dreams, the more recent past would come to haunt him. Images of Anna and Dracula would trouble him to no end. These dreams would provide a window to the past, and the possibility to just catch a glimpse of Anna, no matter how terrible the dream may be. So he lay in his bed, his mind caught in a web of nightmares, battle scenes hoped to be forgotten clouding his mind.

_Van Helsing tugged sharply at the clamps that kept the Frankenstein monster in captivity. He finally managed to pull the last one off when Dracula flew into the air and knocked the hunter back into the layer. Explosions erupted about him as he landed on the floor below. Wincing, he stood and looked around. He spun around to find Dracula there behind him. Jumping back, he said, "So be it." The clock struck midnight, and Van Helsing glanced back before buckling down on his knees with pain. Within seconds he had jumped up - transformed, and looked down at Dracula. He simply laughed before changing and then flying off. Van Helsing leapt at him and the two began to crash along the room entangled in a battle between god's gift and the devil's son._

_It didn't take long for the two to become separated, and Dracula stood, studying the wolf. "You're being used, Gabriel," He said. "As was I, but I've escaped. So can you."_

_Seeing the way the wolf was prepared to go at him again, Dracula swiftly changed and took off into the air … where he got caught in lightning and bolted to the bridge. Van Helsing almost seemed to grin as he scratched his sharp claws against the wall before jumping up to meet Dracula. The vampire stepped backwards nervously. "Don't you understand? We could be – we could be friends! Partners! Brothers in arms."_

_Van Helsing was about to lurch forward, but was surprised to find himself changing back. After a moment he was human, and looked to the window with confusion as did Dracula, who quickly smirked._

"_Did I mention that it was you who murdered me? It must be such a burden, such a curse to be the left hand of god. All I want is life, Gabriel. For my children. I would also like to have my ring returned to me."_

_Van Helsing looked down at his finger, and then back at Dracula, who was stepping closer. "I shall give you back your life … your memory."_

"_Some things are better left forgotten," Van Helsing snapped, before changing back and jumping for the count, who had also returned to his demonic form. The monster hunter latched his venomous teeth at the counts neck, causing the vampire to quickly deteriorate as he cried in pain. For a moment, Van Helsing felt a rush of pleasure at ripping this beast apart. That was until he heard someone rushing at him from behind._

_He spun around and caught the intruder in a grip, tackling them back onto the couch._

"_God forgive me," He heard murmured from behind. He spun back around and caught the friar's arm as he was about to stake the wolf with silver. Carl stared at him with horror, and then followed Van Helsing's gaze to the antidote, sticking out of his side. The wolf let out a startled cry and stepped back, while Carl quickly studied the unmoving figure on the couch. Terrified, he stumbled backwards, dropping the stake._

"_She's dead," He gasped._

_Van Helsing looked back at the still body, and moved forward, slowly lifting her up. It was at this moment he had complete control over his wolf mind, and let out a mournful howl before changing back into the man he had been. He cried, pulling the lifeless head against his as tears brimmed his eyes. He had been sent to save the last of the Valerious. He had begun to allow his feelings to take over for the young woman, and he had just killed her. Killed the person he was supposed to save._

Van Helsing turned in his sleep as the images continued to replay themselves, and he was forced to relive Anna's death over and over again.

KAELIN

Elsewhere in the manor Kaelin Reed was consumed with a strange dream as well. Around her neck lay the necklace she had found only earlier that day in the garden. She was also lost in a dream of the past, however not the recent past.

_Kaelin found herself living as a maiden in the village of Transylvania. Ahead of her Valerious Manor loomed darkly. She was making her way home to her family after having gathered water from the old well. The flooding was only getting worst lately, and it troubled the young woman to no end. The small village could not withstand another flood. It had even killed the little crops the farmers had managed to grow that year. The woman herself feared the reasoning behind these floods and felt terrible in her quick mind that she believed God to be punishing them for those deeds they had committed._

_The woman set her buckets on the ground for a moment to quickly wipe a dark curl - which had fallen out of its restraint - back behind her ear. Her blue eyes roamed over the darkening street before she quickly hoisted the buckets back up so that she may make it home before nightfall. The night was not a horrible thing. To the people of the time, it was a gift from God. However, there were always the small fears held within every person of the shadows in the night. The girl, no more than nineteen, still held these childhood fears taken from crazy stories her uncle would tell her of. And so she wished to make haste to her home, praying for no interruptions. In the back of her mind her imagination had created dark creatures which seemed to be watching her every move, waiting to pounce. With this thought, she quickened her pace. It wouldn't be much longer now, she was almost there. She could even see the smoke from their chimney piling into the air. Grinning, she took a nervous step when someone stepped in front of her, blocking her view. Startled, she stumbled back and dropped the water buckets. The shadow leaned forward catching the small bit of light, and she suddenly recognized the face as Vladius Draguila. He smiled down at her wistfully._

"_Terribly sorry about that," He told her. The woman relaxed at seeing her friend. She smiled back before feeling water leak into her shoes. She looked down with a frown to see she had spilt all the water from the buckets._

"_Oh no!" She cried, bending down and taking the crashed bucket pieces into her fingers. "You see what you've done?"_

_Vladius (Since he went by Vladius back then) quickly bent down to pick up the pieces. "I'm terribly sorry," He said with sincerity. "I saw you and I just thought …"_

"_You thought wrong. Mother needed this water for supper tomorrow. We've already run out of the little bit of food we had left!"_

"_You know you and your family are welcome to dine at my lodgings. We'd be delighted to have you," Vladius replied, taking the woman's hands in his and pulling her to her feet._

"_Yes, well, I wouldn't feel comfortable with that. But I thank you kindly for your generosity," She replied as she suddenly remembered her place. She looked mournfully down at the broken pails and water, imagining her mother's flustered face when she heard of these happenings._

"_Nonsense!" Vladius exclaimed. "We have more than enough food."_

"_And yet you let your people starve?" The woman snapped angrily. Then she lowered her head in shame, realizing how much she had spoken back. "I did not mean to speak out of turn, milord."_

"_I told you not to do that," Vladius said with frustration. "You know how I feel about it."_

_The woman met his eyes. "You love it and you know it. You're too selfish for your own good," She grumbled, starting quickly down the path._

"_It is a wonderful night, Adriana, isn't it?" He asked her._

"_It's like any other night, Vladius. There is no difference between," Adriana replied._

_Vladius was quick to catch up with her. "Ah, but there is a difference, my dear. Each night brings the day, and each day is new. Tell me, if the day is new, then the night must be as well. Of course, there is a particular reason for your refusal to see such magnificence, am I at fault?"_

"_You are not. You always did have an attachment for the hours of darkness, milord," She replied._

"_Perhaps it is because I see the truth in it. I see the beauty of the world between dusk and dawn. Like you. Beautiful but dark. Eyes the color of the nightly sky, Hair like that of the darkest eve. Even your skin has a dark glow, though faint. You, my dear, are the night," He said, leaning a little closer._

_Adriana, well aware of the count's flirtations, moved swiftly away. "Milord, you flatter me. But I have no time for this foolishness."_

"_You will not dine with me, then?"_

"_Not tonight, milord."_

_Vladius was silent for a moment, gazing at Adriana's home several feet away. "Please, then," He said, grasping to one of her hands and gently kissing it. "I am to have an acquaintance arrive on the morn. Will you grace us with your presence? You're relations are welcomed as well."_

_Adriana considered the request thoughtfully. Her family could use a good meal. And it was gracious of the count to offer. And a stranger in town? It was indeed a reason to attend. She glanced at the window to see her younger brother poking his head out from the curtain. Unwanting such attentions and teasing she would no doubt receive from her sibling, she quickly nodded to the count. "Yes, we shall come, milord. But you must let me retire."_

_Vladius glanced at the meddlesome brother who dared to cut their meeting short, to see he had hastily disappeared from the window. "Till then, my dear," He told her._

"_Till then," Adriana replied quickly, before pulling her hand away from the count and darting up the steps of the stone structure._

DOMMY

It was dark indeed, and he had to move the lantern about to try and get a better look at the path before him. Dommy was wandering about the manor with curiosity. He had been in his bed, until he felt himself beginning to drift off. He had been halfway asleep when he had heard singing. Thinking it was his sister at first, he had ignored it, until the strange, beautiful voice broke deep into his consciousness and beckoned him in a strange melody. So he had climbed out of the bed, grabbed a lamp – or torch, have you – and began to follow the sound. He was quick to realize that it wasn't his sister at all. Nor any of the other girls that accompanied him. Firstly, the voice was too good, and too … altered. It definitely sounded inhuman. There was also the fact that the words weren't exactly in English. They didn't sound like any language he had heard before, and it intrigued him. So he pressed forward into the darkness of the mysterious manor.

Down the hall, only a little bit further, a bright light lit up the passage. Seeing this, it became Dommy's goal. He quickened his pace only to find that the little bulb of light was evading him, and moving away. _Interesting_. He began to run down the hall as the singing became louder, the light becoming brighter. Suddenly, the bulb vanished into a room. Dommy stopped to catch his breath, and then eased the door open to find that it led to the outdoors. His hand nervously on his chest, he step outside and took two big gulps of air. It wasn't too bad out, surprisingly. The sky was bright, and the moon was full. And … no sign of werewolves. Although, those things were far from Dommy's mind at the moment. Right now, his sleepy and somewhat confused mind was looking around for the fairy, since he had convinced himself that what he had seen was a fairy. Or perhaps a pixie, if that's how you choose to call it. There was nothing for a long time, and Dommy was almost convinced to just turn around and head inside, ignoring the strange singing, when the light burst in front of him.

Shocked by such a bright beam, he fell on his bottom, and then blinked several times to erase the unusual image from his mind. When he could once again see, he realized the ball of light wasn't a pixie, or a fairy, or anything of that relation. It looked almost like a floating flashlight. There's a thought, a flashlight in the late nineteenth century. The thought made Dommy laugh out loud. What a silly thought. He jumped up, avoiding the light enough so that he could still see it, but out of the corner of his eye. The light moved down the pathway and into a strange forest. Dommy followed after it, hopeful to find the source of the singing. It did sound very intriguing, and Dommy had to ask himself how come none of the others had heard it? Yes, it was getting louder now. Outside it even sounded much clearer.

The eleven year old stumbled into the forest without a single thought, enchanted by the song. He tripped over a root, but barely noticed, stopping only when the song itself had stopped. Dommy blinked. What had happened? "Uhh … where am I?" He looked around the forest to see the light was gone, not that he fully remembered it. He seemed to remember everything through a haze. Taking a nervous step backwards, Dommy took complete control of his mind. Vaguely he remembered a light – maybe a torch – and a song. He licked his lips, and glanced back around, hoping to find himself anywhere near his house. Why was he in the woods so late at night? His mother would have his head for it. Kailyn would probably tease him, too. He wasn't supposed to be out at night. For a moment, panic struck Dommy's throat and a strangled gasp escaped his lungs. He spun around and around trying to find home. Where was home?

"Dominick?" The voice was kind and soft, beckoning him further along. The boy turned back around to where the call had come from. It almost sounded like his mother, but why would she be out so late at night? Had he followed her?

"Mom?" He called.

"Dominick, come here," The voice replied. It was soft, gentle, kind. Dommy turned around fully and continued along with confusion. It had to be his mother. But at the same time, he knew full well it wasn't. The voice was ethereal, unnatural, almost like a song. His Mom was a nice person, but she didn't talk like that. So the only reason his mind allowed him to believe it was his Mom was because he wanted very much to believe it was his Mother. In a way, he was subconsciously craving parental attention, and wanted his mother to be there. Wherever there was.

"Hello?" Dommy called.

"Right here, Dominick." The young boy spun around to where the voice had come from to see a rabbit.

"Where's Alice?" Dommy wondered out loud, thinking of Alice in wonderland. The bunny gazed back at him with fear, and then came closer, sniffing its little nose at Dommy's foot. "Go away!" The small boy shrieked, stumbling back. Stefie could be obsessed with bunnies all she wanted, but Dommy was always afraid they were out to get him … in some sort of way.

"The evilness," He snapped. The bunny tilted its head to the side, and then hopped closer. "You keep away from me," Dommy commanded, pinning himself to a tree. Up ahead a dark laughter broke the tense silence. The bunny quickly darted away, leaving Dommy alone.

"Mom?" The boy cried; turning and now running further with no real goal. This wasn't the forest in his backyard. Where _was_ he? "DJ? Josh? Manda, Kailyn, Aaron? Mom, Dad?" Desperation filled the small boy's voice, and he seemed to have trouble focusing on everything before him.

And then the singing was back. The calming sort of song, which made Dommy slow. This wasn't right. This was completely wrong. "Somebody?" Dommy shrieked.

"We're here for _you_!" Dommy jumped, and then turned to see …

The wall. Blinking, Dommy wiped sweat from his brow, and realized he was sitting up in his bed, covered in sweat. He lifted his fingers and looked down at them with terror, almost afraid what to find. But two smooth, young boy hands were there. Very much in need of a nail clipping, but they were the hands he had grown accustomed to. He glanced to the hole in the side of the wall, which was supposed to be a window yet held no glass. The moon was bright outside, illuminating his room. Looking back at his fingers, just to be certain, he ran over his finger tips, studying his fingerprints, and was delighted to see he still had six loops, and four whorls. Falling back into his bed, he murmured, "It was just a dream." Still … he was suddenly filled with how much he wanted his Mother.

THE OTHERS

Justine had been the last to sneak down into the little foyer, gently closing the door behind her. "What's going on?" She whispered.

Stefie was occupying the same chair Amanda had earlier that day; Francis forced to sit on the edge. Darey was lying down sleepily on the couch, and Amanda was trying hard not to fall asleep.

"Good question," She murmured, shooting an accusing glare at Darey.

"First of all I said midnight," Darey replied, sitting up so that Justine could join her. "Not midnight and twenty three minutes."

"Oh wah," Justine replied, making herself comfortable. "So what's so important?"

"Stef, I think there was something you wanted to share with the class," Darey said, looking at the girl. Amanda sat up from her seat on the floor, and looked between the two. "You mean you know? Well how come I'm the last to find out?"

"I don't know," Justine replied.

"Me neither," Darey said. "Stefie just mentioned she had something important to tell us."

"What about the others? Shouldn't we tell them, too?" Justine asked.

"No," Francis said firmly.

"Okay Mr. Grouchy. Sup?"

"Ian is working with the enemy," Stefie stated.

"What?" Justine demanded, jumping up.

"Just because you like him doesn't mean you have to -," Stefie began.

"I don't like him!" Justine exclaimed, thankful for the night which hid her red cheeks. "And besides, you said he was working _with_ the enemy. That doesn't mean he _is_ the enemy."

"It's the same thing!" Stefie snapped; her voice dark and her face furious.

"Okay, okay," Darey said, quickly jumping up. "Do I have to play mediator? Now we're all teenagers here. Well, maybe that's the logical explanation for this sort of behavior. Beside the point. We need to relax. Now Francis, where did you get this information from?"

"Stefie overheard a conversation when she fell into a trapped door."

"One of those 'shree-na' things told Ian she'd take care of the kids – us. Then they were arguing about how important it was," Stefie said.

"All you heard was voices?" Justine asked.

"No, I saw them," Stefie replied.

"That doesn't make sense," Amanda said.

"Exactly what I was thinking," Darey answered.

"Why have a conversation with the guy when they could go right for us? It doesn't add up," Amanda continued. She looked thoughtful, and then turned to Darey, though she could hardly see her.

"I agree," The other girl said. "Besides, why would Ian try to get rid of us when he invited us here in the first place?"

"He tricked us," Stefie said.

"No, that isn't reasonable. If they wanted to kill us then and there they would have. We were vulnerable."

"Maybe they don't want us dead," Justine said hopefully.

"In that case, what if they're the ones who summoned us here?" Amanda asked.

"Huh?" Francis inquired.

"Well Justine, Carl and have created the theory that we were summoned here … by someone," Amanda said.

"Even if they did summon us here, why? They're the bad guys," Stefie said.

"Why are they the bad guys? Because Van Helsing said so?" Darey demanded.

"Psychotic freaks? No offense Darey, but I'm pretty certain they aren't girl scouts," Amanda said.

"Alright, alright," Justine said. "So basically we have nothing. We all know we were summoned here, but we don't know by whom. Stefie says Ian's working with the enemy, and Darey didn't find anything in the library. Did you?"

"No," Darey said, shaking her head. Then she froze. "Well actually." She dug in her pocket and pulled out the drawing she had found in the old book. She quickly unfolded it. "I found this picture in one of the books. It's Van Helsing and Dracula."

"How do you know what Dracula looks like?" Francis asked when the picture was handed to him.

"Come on. Stefie has his poster hanging in her room," Darey said.

"You do?" Francis asked, a small twinge of hurt reflected in his eyes.

"It's Dracula, Francis. Crazily charismatic and charming Dracula," Stefie replied.

"Okay, I get the picture," Francis said.

"Make sense out of this for me. How can Van Helsing be in that picture? The book was at lease over a hundred years old. And why would he be friends with Dracula?" Darey asked.

"Well, in the movie Dracula did mention that he knew Van Helsing. Seemed like he knew him pretty well," Amanda said.

"How? Reincarnation?" Darey asked.

"Not exactly. VH is just … really old," Amanda replied. Darey looked at her with confusion, but didn't say anything.

"So you didn't find anything about those things that attacked us? Not even something to protect yourself against them?" Justine asked hopefully.

"Not yet," Darey replied sadly.

"Then we're doomed."

"Not necessarily," Francis said. "Just inconvenienced. There has to be something about them. I get the feeling that they've been around much longer than they've revealed. Maybe an old journal or something will reveal information."

"What about the one that I found? Adriana Cardei's. It seemed rather old," Darey said excitedly.

"That's a great place to start from," Francis said.

"When did you become so smart?" Stefie asked him jokingly.

Francis shrugged as Justine shivered.

"What do we do about Ian?" She asked.

"There's nothing we can do at the moment. Just be cautious," Francis replied. "In the meantime, we're just going to have to sit back … wait for an attack. I know it doesn't sound great, but besides research there isn't much more we can do."

"So meeting adjourned? Can we go to bed now?" Amanda asked hopeful.

"Meeting adjourned," Darey agreed.

AN: Poll. How long into it did you guys realize Dommy was dreaming?


	19. Chapter Eighteen

Through the Veil

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

They were once again in the dark and foreboding room filled with torture devices and the throne, tapestry still dangling in the background. Now, however, Queen Deidre was standing before her, inspecting the young woman, no older than her mid twenties, head hung and arms held firmly by Alys and another of Deirdre's warriors. Taking in the girl's appearance, though her face was well hidden by her hair, Queen Deirdre began to grin.

"My, my!" She exclaimed, her fingers curling together joyfully as she raised them to her face. "Kael Vahn. It's been so long. _Too_ long, my dear."

The girl raised her head, her dark brown waves falling out of her face to show her blue eyes, and soft face. She wasn't too pale, but she wasn't exactly dark, either. She had a couple freckles spotting her cheek bones. Her lips curled into a frustrated sneer. She wore a simple white shirt under a light brown vest. A brown skirt falling down to her booted feet. She hadn't bothered to tie her hair back at all, so the long waves fell down her back, almost to her waist. Her boots themselves weren't laced properly, showing she had most likely been snagged with little time to present herself.

"Too soon, in my opinion," The woman replied darkly. When she spoke, her voice sounded of several different accents thrown together, hinting that she had stayed in many places throughout her lifetime.

"You shouldn't have come back," Deidre told her simply. "You should have known I would find you. Staying on that old land. Honestly Kael, I figured you to be smarter than that."

"Apparently, because here I am. Once again against my will," Kael snapped.

"Why must you be so difficult, girl?" Deidre asked. She leaned forward, studying the woman, who quickly tried to lash out. Deidre stepped back slowly, not truly frightened by Kael. A small grin settled on her features. "You aren't still upset about your Mother, are you?"

At these words, Kael's face contorted in anger. A colorful array of words escaped her lips, some not even in the English language. Deidre grinned at the vulgarities. "Oh dear, this will not do. Not at all. Especially when we need your help."

"I'll never help you," Kael shrieked, trying to pull away. It was useless, of course, and they all knew it. However, Kael needed to take her frustration out on something and struggling helped a little.

Deirdre just grinned. "You will if you care at all for your Father's well being."

Kael froze, and then met the woman's yellow eyes. "He's here?" She asked, fear in her voice. Her eyes had widened considerably, and a small tinge of dread was evident. "You stay away from him, you hear? He doesn't know anything about any of this!"

"Then you will do as are told. I have a job for you, and your … services will be required," Deidre said. She looked pensively away.

Looking defeated, the woman once again hung her head. "What do you need me to do?" She asked, her voice hollow.

Deidre turned back to her, a wide grin on her face. "Did you hear the news on the princess?" She asked casually. "Such a shame to hear such _unbearable_ news, wasn't it?"

Kael said nothing, but automatically understood what the woman was hinting at. "There was another _unbearable_ loss during that battle, wasn't there?" She finally asked. Wheels were quickly turning in the young woman's mind, and a small plan was quickly being set into motion. However, no one could begin to guess at her mind's trickery.

Deidre's smile widened further, if it was possible. "Indeed it was, dear girl. Indeed it was." She started to walk away, then stopped, not bothering to turn back around.

"Those children … they are rather interesting, are they not? They just … appeared out of nowhere. Just appeared. Helped take out half my forces. They hold my attentions greatly. Makes me wonder how such people could be brought here. Doesn't it make you?"

If Deidre had bothered to look back at the girl, she would have caught the slim smile that had managed to reach Kael's lips. Somehow, though, Deidre had a feeling it was there anyways.

AN: Yea, sorry it's short. I know, I know, bad, evil me for making such a short chapter, but had I said more everything would have been revealed! Please review, KK? And thanks to Fortune Zyne for the review!


	20. Chapter Nineteen

Through the Veil

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Dommy stumbled down the staircase, following the smell of food. To his nose, it smelled divine and something to rest his unsettled stomach. After he had managed to fall back to sleep the night before, his dreams had been nothing, but the impact of the one was still fresh in his memory. And what was up with that rabbit?

He stopped at the bottom of the staircase and took in a deep breath, marveling at the smell that filled his nostrils. Eggs, no doubt. Where the eggs had come from, he wasn't exactly certain he wanted to know, but he knew that smell fully well. And was that a bit of ham he detected. Eggs and ham? Oh, perhaps one of the others had made an omelet! With this idea in his mind, the boy darted around the side and into the long corridor, before throwing open the double doors to the kitchen to see Amanda, Darey, Stefie, Justine, Francis and Carl each seated at the table with a warm plate in front of them. Dommy narrowed his eyes as he realized all the conversation had ceased immediately, and now everyone was looking at their plate. Dommy quickly shut the doors behind him and stepped in. Still, no one said anything.

"How come you guys can't talk about anything with me around? I walk into the room and the conversation just stops. I'm eleven, not ten!" Dommy snapped. Amanda looked up slowly and studied her brother.

"We were just discussing the food," She replied, gesturing to the plates. Dommy just frowned.

"And you had to stop talking about food because I came in? Fine, I'll go along with that cockamamie sentence, but I'm going to find out what's going on with you guys. And you'll regret not telling me," He snapped. He stepped further into the room and looked at the plate. Sure enough an omelet was present. "Where's mine?"

"On the counter," Carl told him, getting up and picking the plate before setting it at the last free table.

Dommy sat, looking everyone over with suspicion but then began to bite in. A wide grin surfaced on his features. "Alright, real food! No offense, but eating that junk yesterday was not fun. Where was the grease? The fat? Is this Ian guy on some sort of a diet or something?"

Stefie nodded in agreement. "You're right, it was really disgusting. They don't even have pop tarts here. Pop tarts!"

"Or a computer," Amanda said mournfully.

"Which means no internet access," Darey said.

"Which means no talking with my friends on IM," Justine added.

"Which means no hacking into school files and fixing grades for twenty bucks," Francis finished.

Everyone turned and stared at him. Especially Dommy. "You mean to tell me you can hack into the school files and alter grades?" He exclaimed.

"That's what he just said," Darey pointed out.

"And you never told me! Do you know how much trouble that would have saved me if you would have just fixed my grades?" The small boy exclaimed.

Francis simply grinned. "All the more reason not to tell you. Hearing of your sufferings bring me great joy."

"What's a computer?" Carl asked with confusion. "And the internet?"

Amanda turned to Darey hopefully, who just sighed. "Well Carl, do you recall our discussion on data? Well, those cables that go into the TV also go into this thing called a computer. With these cables, you can type out anything you want, and it's much easier than the printing press. You can also log onto this thing called the internet, which is a vast source of information that you can get at just the click of a button. I just wish we had something like that here, so we wouldn't have to look through all those books," Darey told him.

"This is fascinating," Carl said. "What else do you have?"

"Electricity?" Dommy suggested. "Don't you guys have that yet? Arnold Einstein, or whoever."

Darey buried her hands in her face. "First of all Dommy, you're thinking of Albert Einstein, and he helped to create the atomic bomb. The guy who helped harness electricity in the first light bulb was Thomas Edison. Don't they teach you anything in that elementary school of yours?"

"Don't you remember me saying a minute ago that I needed Francis to alter my grades?" Dommy snapped.

"Right. I'm in the presence of an idiot," Darey answered.

"Why you …!"

"Oh bother," Carl said. He quickly stood from the table. "I think I am going to find Van Helsing. I hope to speak with you further on this topic."

"Yea, sure," Justine said, giving him a wan smile. As Carl walked out of the room, Kaelin walked in. The first thing Amanda noticed was her friend's troubled expression.

"What's wrong?" She asked, standing up but uncertain whether she should step closer in case Kaelin was still angry with her.

Kaelin just sighed and rubbed at her eyes. "Hey, sorry. I just had these weird dreams last night. I barely remember what they were about, but they were really crazy." She took Carl's old seat and Amanda sat again.

"What happened in them?" Francis asked.

Kaelin just shook her head. "I'm not really sure. I think most of them had this woman in it. I was her, but the way things were made it seem like it was years ago. There was also something about water. And a stranger was coming, but I didn't know who," She filled in.

"Huh," Amanda said, pursing her lips.

"Hey, cool necklace," Justine said, gesturing to the pendant around Kaelin's neck. "I don't remember you having it before."

"I didn't. I found it," Kaelin said quickly.

"You found it?" Francis asked dubiously.

"Yea. It was just lying around outside. And, you know, it was sort of cool, so I put it on," Kaelin lied. Then she looked at the others. "I'm sorry I was such a pain yesterday. I guess everything just sort of hit me, you know? I'm going to try really hard to relax, though. And be helpful. I promise I won't go off on my own again like that. Or snap at you guys."

"It's understandable," Stefie said with a welcoming smile.

"So what did I miss?" Kaelin asked.

"Eh … not much," Amanda said slowly. "Just a little stuff here and there."

Kaelin eyed her with confusion, and then looked at Dommy who simply shrugged. "Hey, they won't tell me anything, either," he told her.

"Okay," Kaelin said. "Maybe it's time we find out."

"Maybe," Darey agreed. She glanced around the table at everyone else, and was about to tell Kaelin what they had put together when the subject of their worry stepped into the room. Ian was silent for a long moment, just staring at the teenagers before him. Finally, he seemed to remember what he came in for, and he nodded his head at the others.

"I was looking for you," He told them.

"Why? You aren't going to kill us, are you?" Stefie asked. Once again, Francis was forced to kick Stefie's foot. However, he did it at the same time Darey kicked her other foot, and the girl quickly winced in pain, before glaring daggers at her two friends.

"What?" Ian asked, now looking rather insulted as he crossed his arms defensively over his chest. "I came to inform you I have agreed to allow you to stay."

"You have?" Justine asked. There was a slight tremor of fear in her voice, which the man quickly picked up on. He smiled darkly at her.

"At your own risk, that is. Is there something that frightens you?" he asked teasingly, surprising the others by the grin on his face. Justine swallowed.

"No?" She choked out. Then she smiled back at him hesitantly.

Dommy looked at Ian. "If we're going to stay here, could we get a new set of clothes or something? I forgot to bring my suitcase."

Ian frowned, considering the request. "Yes, perhaps that would be a good idea. We have many extra clothes up in the attic that I will have sent for as soon as possible. How does that sound?" He asked.

"Is there anything small? I don't want my pants falling off in front of the ladies," Dommy answered.

"I am certain you will find something," Ian assured him.

"We don't have to wear any bulky old skirts, do we?" Stefie asked with a frown. "Yea," The other girls chorused.

"I'm certain Lady Anna had some breeches that should do well," Ian replied.

"Cool, eighteenth century Van Helsing world clothing," Amanda said, sitting back. "This should be fun."


	21. Chapter Twenty

AN: Hey, thanks for the reviews. Those said and those simply thought

Aradia-Hornbeam: Ah ha! You know, was feeling a little depressed because of something really stupid, I suppose, and when I read your review it made me start laughing so much I forgot what I was upset about for a minute! So thank you, it helped cheer me up: P

Through the Veil

CHAPTER TWENTY

Kaelin stood in front of the long mirror studying the clothes she had finally found to her liking. "They fit perfect," She announced with a grin. She had selected an interesting red dress that covered her whole body, including her neck, but clung to certain parts of her anatomy accordingly. She had then taken a long black cloth jacket with silver Celtic designs on the fringe and no sleeves and placed it on her shoulders. It was an interesting style, and Kaelin definitely liked the way the dress fit. And the jacket – unbuttoned and hanging open – added a certain fashionable degree to it. She had settled for leaving her dark hair down, and lacing on some black ball slippers. She leaned close to the mirror and gently rubbed some of the dirt off of her face. "Ooh, I definitely like," She said flashing a wide grin. She turned back to meet Amanda's eyes.

The other girl was dressed in tight leather pants that had most likely belonged to Anna in her younger years. There was also a dark purple long-sleeved shirt that hung off of her shoulders. Her abdomen was covered in a black girdle making her waist seem much slimmer, although it was rather small already. She had thrown on some black boots, and tied her long brown hair back and a sloppy bun. Her black eye still marred her features, and the cut over her eyebrow was still visible, but both were steadily settling down. There was a light bruise on her shoulder where Josh had dug his finger during their argument, but other than that she looked like she normally did. If anything, it gave her a sort of tough appearance. Especially the dark scowl that now darkened her pale face. She had taken a more kick-ass approach, throwing on some lace up boots that much resembled the ones Anna had worn the day she died.

"How do you expect yourself to fight in that?" Darey voiced, meeting Kaelin's blue eyes and voicing the same question that had been on Amanda's mind. Darey had actually taken clothes that hadn't belonged to a woman, but a man. Not to say that she wasn't into being girlish or wearing the sort of clothes the others had taken. She simply found the men's clothes much more comfortable than any of the women's. She wore very loose black slacks that needed to be buckled by a belt to keep up properly and a loose black shirt. She had also managed to snag a trench coat somewhat similar to Van Helsing's, and a gentleman's top hat. The hat she had simply put on for show, and was now taking off as she waited for Kaelin's replied. She, like Amanda, had slipped on some boots that were also a man's, but that was because they were the only ones that would fit her feet. Her short black curls were pulled back in a ponytail, showing the two green strands that had been dyed at the base of her neck.

Kaelin just grinned. "Oh, I'll find a way," The girl replied, twirling around so that the jacket flared out a bit. "Besides," She said as an after thought. "We don't need to fight right at this moment."

Stefie and Justine traded a look full of laughs. Darey had convinced Stefie to wear her hair down saying she never wore it down. Although secretly, her and Justine had decided they were going to help her look really good for Francis. So in that case they had curled her frizzy hair – with some help from one of the maids, and set her into a stunning baby blue gown. It was something an upper class woman in London would probably wear everyday, but judging by the almost perfect conditions Darey assumed it had been used only for special occasions. The top was of a vest-like design, with small buttons in the back. The bottom flared out a little with all the crinoline beneath it, but it was more likely that the dress had been prepared for many petticoats to make it larger. They had placed some slippers on her feet and tied a light blue ribbon into her hair at the hairline. The dress probably would have looked much better on her had she been wearing a corset, but Stefie was very insistent on not wearing 'the death trap'. When they had finally shown her the image in the mirror, she had refused to go outside and show anyone. She said she couldn't believe they had talked her into wearing such a silly outfit, to which Justine had kindly pointed out that Francis would like it. Instead of starting an argument with the other girl, Stefie had sat down on the bed and said nothing, besides grumbling to herself about only wearing it because she didn't want to have to get changed again. All girls in the room had exchanged a secret smile but said nothing.

Justine had grabbed the first shirt and pants she had seen. The shirt was a wine red and was a little large, so she had quickly pulled a black vest on to try and keep it in place. She had then pulled on the black pants which were baggy and cotton, but surprising fit well at her hips. They went a little past her feet but she found it rather amusing and settled for it. There were also pockets sewn on at the sides and by her knees, which gave the idea that perhaps a soldier had worn the pants. She chose to keep her sneakers on instead of switching into old fashioned shoes like the others had. She kept her straight golden hair in its ponytail, and was content with the comfortable and overall effect.

"Perhaps we should leave the room, hmm?" Darey asked, reaching for the door.

"Don't you open that door!" Stefie squealed, pulling it back closed.

"Is there a problem?" The voice on the other end inquired. Francis.

"What's the matter?" Kaelin asked with annoyance.

"I don't want them to see me like this," Stefie hissed. "I never should have gone along with it."

"But you said a little while ago you'd deal with it," Darey said.

"Yeah. Besides, you look really good," Justine told her.

"Guys?" Francis asked again.

"They're probably in there doing girly things, like giggling," Dommy told the older boy.

"They don't _giggle_," Francis snapped.

"This is ridiculous," Darey said, pulling the door open before Stefie had the time to pull it closed again. Darey stepped out and grinned at the boys. Francis was dressed exactly as Velkan had the day he was bitten, which had Amanda suspect that the clothes had been Velkan's. They were both the same height, same build. Except Francis still looked younger compared to the deceased prince. Dommy, on the other hand, was dressed like a mini Van Helsing. He even had the hat.

After Darey had stepped out Amanda did, looking darkly at her brother. "Did you steal that hat?" She asked him.

"Umm … no?" He replied. Amanda shook her head, as did Kaelin, who was the next to walk out. Justine came next, looking at her friends.

"I feel like I'm playing dress-up," She said with a grin.

"Well if we're playing dress-up than Stefie's the doll," Dommy said as the short girl came through the door, arms angrily over her chest.

Francis froze as he studied her, before a small smile crept over his face. "Stef, you look, eh, great," He said, a little surprised.

Stefie's arms fell to her side, and she smiled at him nervously. "So do you, _Velkan_," She said.

"Uhh …" Francis seemed at a loss for words, and Dommy was quick to fill in for him.

"This is the part where you ask her to go off with you and live happily ever after," He said.

Francis's cheeks quickly burned and he glared darkly at the kid. Even Stefie was slightly embarrassed. "I think I'll go change," She said, turning back.

"Well, don't," Francis said. "Why not wear it for the day, at least."

Stefie hesitated, and then nodded. "Okay. Okay," She said, nodding her head.

"Want to go to the kitchen?" Francis asked.

"Yes!" Stefie exclaimed. She grabbed his hand and practically dragged him down the hallway to find the kitchen, for they knew where it was now.

Kaelin snorted. "All that and he asks her to the _kitchen_? Men," She said.

"I think it's cute," Darey replied. Then she frowned. "In a weird sort of way. But cute, all the same."

"_Really_ weird," Amanda agreed. "Who's up for going to the training room?" Amanda asked.

"Sounds cool," Darey said.

"I sort of want to head out to the village," Justine said with a sort of pout.

"I'll go with you!" Kaelin piped up, her head jerking around to look at Justine.

"What about those psychotic freak girls?" Amanda asked.

"I'll protect them," Dommy said, stepping up. The others snorted.

"Just like you protected yourself from getting caught yesterday?" Darey asked.

"I was caught off guard," Dommy snapped.

Just then Van Helsing came up the stairs and caught sight of the girls and Dommy. Frowning, he moved closer.

"Is that my hat?" He asked Dommy.

"Well, it's on my head at the moment, so I say it's mine," The boy replied. Frowning, VH bent down and pulled the hat off of the boy's head before placing it on his own.

"Well that's just not fair," Dommy said with a pout, arms crossed over his chest.

"Hey VH," Darey said. "Justine and Kaelin wanted to go into the village and look around. Do you think you could take them?"

"I don't have time for trips to the village," Van Helsing said. "Besides, I'd advise against it. I don't want any of you outside with no way to protect yourselves."

"Well we'd have you," Justine said. "It won't be long. We just want to see the village. It isn't every day you get sucked into a movie that takes place in the eighteen hundreds. Why not see as much of the place as we can?"

"Was it just me, or did that sound like a Stefie comment?" Darey asked Amanda. The brunette nodded her head in agreement.

"Not now," Van Helsing replied. "Have any of you seen Carl?"

"Well he said he was going to go looking for you at breakfast," Dommy said, sitting up.

"I haven't seen him all morning," Van Helsing said with a troubled expression.

The others exchanged a worried look. "What do you think could have happened to him?" Justine asked.

"Maybe he caught up with the barmaid," Kaelin joked.

"I knew I shouldn't have told you about that part," Amanda said, trying to look at her friend with a disapproving frown, but ended up failing greatly as she burst out laughing. Even Darey had to smirk, while Justine and Dommy looked clueless.

Van Helsing shook his head. "Carl and I had important things to discuss. You don't think he could have gotten caught up in the library?"

"You didn't check the library?" Darey asked with surprise.

"Is this guy a knowledge freak?" Kaelin questioned.

"Definitely," Amanda and Darey chimed in.

"Oh yea, the guy who hates Van Helsing!" Dommy said.

Everyone stared at him with confusion, and the boy shrugged. "It was in a parody Josh showed me."

Van Helsing sighed, glancing out the window. "I'm sure he'll turn up. It's probably nothing at all."

"So if you're not going to talk to Carl can we please go to the village? If you say no we'll just go without you," Kaelin told him.

"We will?" Justine asked, looking at her as if she were crazy.

"_I_ will," Kaelin said.

Van Helsing sighed with frustration, and then relented. "I should head into the village to have a few words with the villagers about the Sreain," He admitted.

"Finally, something fun," Kaelin said.

The monster hunter looked at her and then frowned, taking the necklace she wore at her neck in his hand. "Where did you find this?" He asked.

"Around," Kaelin said quickly, pulling it back. "Why?"

"It seems familiar," Van Helsing said, still staring at the piece of jewelry as if under a spell. After a moment he shook his head. "Never mind. Are we going now?"

"Can I come?" Dommy asked. "I want to do some monster hunter stuff. What is it and how do we kill it, right Van Helsing?"

The hunter stared at him with surprise, and then nodded his head. "Alright," he said. "Come along."

As the four of them herded away, Darey turned to Amanda. "Looks like Van Helsing has a temporary apprentice," She said.

Amanda simply frowned. "How would he know that line when he didn't watch the movie?" She wondered out loud, staring at the back of her brother's retreating figure.

"You do own it. Maybe he watched it when you weren't around," Darey suggested.

"Maybe," Amanda said, still frowning. "Or maybe that little pain is up to something."

At this, Darey burst out laughing. "You are too paranoid." The laughter was contagious and Amanda found herself bursting out laughing as well.

THE VILLAGE

Van Helsing watched as the two girls were now arguing over something. Ithadn't even been a full minute after leaving the house before the two had begun to argue. At first it was whispered frustration, but as they arrived in the village their voices had taken on a heightened crescendo before they had stopped moving altogether, and were staring across from each other yelling absurdities. Dommy was pulling on his coat, and the hunter hadn't exactly gotten much work done. Sighing, he looked down. "What?" He asked. Maybe he didn't like kids.

"I think you should ask that guy over there some questions. He says something about a large shadow that he saw in the sky," Dommy replied. The older man looked down at him with confusion and a bit of surprise before looking over at the man. Then again, maybe kids weren't that bad.

"Excuse me?" Van Helsing called, approaching the man.

"What's he doing?" Justine asked, running up to Dommy as Kaelin slowly made her way over.

"Well that guy over there is seeing things and Van Helsing's going to find out what it has to do with anything," Dommy replied.

"O_kay_," Justine said, dragging the word out.

"What?" Kaelin asked with confusion.

"Just watch," Dommy told her as he started to catch up to the hunter.

"So what exactly did you see?" Van Helsing asked.

"Well the sun dis'peared behind a cloud a whiles back," The villager began. "Looked like it was goin'a rain, too, it did. Then, the large shadow flew over the town. For a moment I thought to myself that it was one of them brides come back from the dead. Shadow looked just like one. Didn't it, Darrel?"

The woman looked up with surprise. "For a moment. But it was just a shadow," She replied.

Van Helsing looked the two over with confusion. "A shadow?"

"Yep, sir. A big bulky one, too. Just crept over the sky, but was sort of lanky. What say you, Darrel?"

"I don't know," The girl said with irritation. "I suppose it looked more like … like Dracula's shadow."

"Yea, that was it!" The man exclaimed. "Dracula. Some of the villagers ran inside in fear of that grea' demon's return," The man replied.

"Why would there be just a shadow?" Van Helsing asked himself out loud.

"Maybe someone brought him back to life to distract you from your mission," Dommy suggested.

"Don't be stupid," Justine told her. "It's impossible to bring someone back to life. Right?"

"If someone can find a way to bring Anna back to -."

"Anna can't come back to life!" Van Helsing snapped, looking daggers at the boy as he took in frustrated breaths.

"Well Dracula did," Dommy said.

"That was with the devil's help, and that was decades ago," Van Helsing replied sharply.

"Not then," Dommy said, rolling his eyes. "I meant _this_ time."


	22. Chapter Twenty One

AN: Thanks to Aradia-Hornbeam and HughJackmanFan

Aradia-Hornbeam: Yes, Kael is actually gonna be one of the big mysteries here, and unfortunately it won't exactly be revealed until the very end of the story. However, she is an important character, so maybe you or anyone else will pick up on it quickly. Yea, I guess she sort of has a connection to Dracula. She hates him, if that counts, lol. As for liking Ian in a tall dark handsome and brooding sort of way, well … Justine does, so I don't think it's a _bad_ thing. Yeppers, Drac's finally making some sort of appearance. In fact, he'll be back in … a few chapters. Thanks for the review!

Through the Veil

CHAPTER TWENTY ONE

"And what did Van Helsing say?" Darey asked Justine. It was later that day. The two had finished dinner a while ago and had decided to have a little sleepover in an attempt to push away the thoughts that Dracula could possibly have returned. They had discussed it a little over supper, but Van Helsing said little, still concerned with Carl's disappearance. Now Justine was terrified Dracula would come for them in the night, and had begged Darey to allow her to sleep in the same room – which had a latched window. Darey had reluctantly agreed, and now they were waiting for Amanda, Kaelin and Stefie who decided they wanted a little sleepover as well. Justine had just gotten to the part of her story about the outing earlier that day where Dommy told Van Helsing Dracula was back again.

"He sort of got this funny look on his face," She replied, pulling the blankets over herself on the makeshift bed before staring up at the ceiling. "Like, he wasn't entirely sure what to think. Then he nodded his head and walked away."

"He just walked away!" Darey exclaimed.

"Yes."

"Huh. Well, how did Dommy know Dracula's back? If we are to go with that idea that he is back," Darey said quickly as she tugged her nightgown down over her head.

"I hope he isn't," Justine said with a shudder.

"Well why does Dommy think he is?" Darey asked.

"I don't think he really does. It was just weird. He seemed so sure of himself. It was sort of scary," Justine admitted.

"I'll bet. So after VH walked off what happened?"

"We followed him. I think, in some weird way, he enjoyed the company. We didn't talk, either. It was ... umm."

"One of the strangest frickin experiences I've ever had. That's my spot," Kaelin said as she stomped into the room, throwing her pillow on the floor and waiting for Amanda and Stefie to get settled.

"What are we talking about?" Amanda asked with curiosity.

"Dracula returning," Darey and Justine said together.

"I don't think he's back. It's probably a trick of those crazy Sreain people," Amanda replied.

"Well I for one hope its real," Stefie said. "I really want to meet Drac."

"Think about it, Stef. This guy is a _vampire_." Justine pulled her blankets tighter around herself and closed her eyes to try and erase the horrific image filling her head.

"Yea, but he's Dracula," Stefie countered.

"I think we could take him if he came back," Darey voiced.

"And I could care less," Kaelin said. "I think we should all go to sleep, what say you?"

"I think I liked her better when she wasn't talking to us," Justine whispered to Amanda.

Kaelin scowled at the comment, but said nothing in return. Darey rose off of the bed and stumbled over to the window, opening it a crack to look outside.

"What are you doing?" Justine squealed, jumping up.

"I'm just looking," Darey said softly. She leaned against the wall with her arms crossed over her chest and studied the outdoors thoughtfully.

"How come in the movie you barely actually saw the vampires out at night?" Amanda asked. "Didn't that bother anyone else?"

"Yea, what _was_ up with that?" Stefie said.

Darey turned back to the group with a grin. "I wonder what the boys are doing," She said.

"Dommy said something about harassing Francis," Kaelin said.

"Ooh, what if we scared them?" Stefie exclaimed, jumping up.

Darey grinned. "Exactly what I was thinking. Come on, I have an idea."

DOMMY AND FRANCIS

"Stop poking me!" Francis snapped, rolling to the other side of the bed and away from Dommy. "Why are you even in my room?"

"I couldn't sleep," Dommy said with a shrug before leaning over and poking Francis' back.

"Argh!" Francis snapped, jumping out of the bed and pulling the thin blanket tightly around himself. "Can't you go away?"

"No," Dommy said simply. "I told you, I can't sleep. I need to pester somebody when I'm restless."

"So go bug the girls or something," Francis growled. "I just want to go to sleep."

"They're plotting something against us, you know," Dommy said, falling back on the bed.

"Oh really?" Francis asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yep."

"And how do you know that?"

"I know my sister, duh. And I know Kaelin. I even know Justine a little bit. And once, a few years ago, they had a big sleepover together and all us boys decided to sleep in the same room to keep away from their giggling. And when we woke up we were covered in shaving cream, crazy string, and girl hair things. Aaron and DJ even had makeup on their faces," Dommy told him with a grin. "Trust me; they're going to come in here. Probably to scare us this time, what with all this Dracula nonsense."

Francis studied the boy before shifting a little. "So what do we do?"

"We scare them before they can scare us," Dommy said as it was the most obvious thing.

A devious grin curved onto Francis' lips.

A LITTLE WHILE LATER THE GIRLS

"Well I don't see why it had to be me," Kaelin snapped, trying to move away.

"Because you're pale and your dark hair is long enough, duh," Darey said as she put the button-up black coat over the girls' shirt.

"And she's tall," Stefie added.

"Oh my god, she looks just like him!" Amanda exclaimed joyfully.

"Yea, if Dracula was a girl," Justine said.

"Oh, don't forget about the two bits that should be hanging at the side of her face!" Amanda pointed out.

"What if VH sees us, and thinks she's actually Dracula?" Justine asked.

"Dracula wouldn't be stupid enough to walk right into the manor and hang out. Please, VH will know the difference," Stefie replied.

"So … you're sure Dracula wouldn't be stupid enough to come to the manor?" Justine asked looking nervous.

"Dracula is _dead_!" Amanda exclaimed with frustration while pulling out two strands of hair from Kaelin's ponytail. "We all know there is no coming back from the dead."

Kaelin stiffened a little at these words, and then nodded. "She's right. Dracula isn't really here."

"Dommy seemed so sure, and I think Van Helsing believed him," Justine said.

"Dommy's full of it. He's still ranting that we're going to bring Anna back," Darey snapped.

"Well why should Anna be able to come back?" Kaelin demanded angrily.

"You look pretty scary when you're mad," Stefie said, stepping back.

"Relax, Kaelin. Dracula isn't back, and Anna won't be coming back, either," Amanda told her, having a suspicion that Kaelin was thinking of her mother.

"I sure hope so," Justine said.

"I think we're finished," Darey said, stepping back and admiring their work. The others gathered around to peer at their friend.

"I feel stupid," Kaelin growled.

"The earrings! We forgot the earrings," Stefie said.

"Earrings?" Kaelin asked, slowly backing away. "The dude wore earrings? Was he gay?"

"He had three brides and over a million kids," Amanda said, rolling her eyes.

"The _pervert_," Justine said.

"Yea, yea, good thing we don't have to meet him. Okay, forget the earrings. What about the teeth?"

"We can stick parchment on her teeth," Stefie suggested.

"No, that's stupid," Justine said.

"No teeth," Kaelin snapped.

"Well what do we do?" Amanda demanded.

"I suggest we go back to bed," Kaelin said, turning on her heal.

"Well where's the fun in that?" Darey demanded, grabbing the girls' coat tail and tugging her back to them. "Don't you want to scare the boys?"

"Duh," Kaelin replied. "But I'm sick of sitting around and talking about it, when we could be doing it."

"Fine, fine," Amanda said. "No teeth, forget the earrings. Looks close enough to Dracula as we can get with that junk in the attic. What do you guys think?"

"She looks as scary as ever," Justine replied with a shrug.

"It's Dracula. Francis is gonna freak," Stefie filled in.

"It'll do," Amanda said.

"Yes, it will do," Darey replied.

They quickly began to sneak along the corridors down to the room Francis was supposed to be in. Leaning against the door, they could hear his labored breathing.

"How do we know he's asleep?" Justine whispered.

Stefie placed her ear against the door as Darey and Kaelin had done, waited a beat, and then nodded her head. "He's sleeping. I'd recognize that breathing from anywhere."

"I don't even want to know how you would know what he sounds like when he's asleep," Kaelin said with a smirk.

Stefie just looked at her blankly. "Well he spends the night at my house sometimes," She said honestly.

The others quickly traded a secret grin before Kaelin said, "I'll bet he does."

"Come on, stop teasing Stef, you guys," Darey said.

"How are they teasing me?" Stefie asked, confused.

"Never mind," Justine said, shaking her head. "Let's get this over with."

Kaelin took in a breath and then opened the door quietly before tiptoeing into the room. She looked at the sleeping form before her. Francis had his hand over his face and was beginning to snore. Kaelin grinned, and then bent down to nudge him enough so that he could wake up, but as soon as she poked his side, he snatched her fingers and spun up, bending towards Kaelin's neck.

The girl shrieked and jerked back just as scared screams filled the hall. Kaelin narrowed her eyes at Francis, who was laughing loudly, and then froze.

"What was that?" He whispered. Kaelin rubbed at her wrist where Francis had caught her.

"What was what?" She sneered angrily.

She glanced up to look at him and noticed a strange shadow at the window. She gasped and then fell back onto the floor.

"Is that supposed to scare me?" Francis asked with amusement.

Kaelin pointed at the window, eyes wide in terror as she tried to get her lips to move, to point out the thing at the window. After a few seconds she managed a window shattering scream to fill the castle and echo around the village.

Dommy came in from the other door where he had snuck up on the girls and gave them quite a fright. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the shadow at the window.

"Oh my god," He said, eyes wide in shock. Francis turned around behind him to hear a strange sort of knocking at the window. He saw the shadow, which almost seemed to be that of a large beast flying just inches from the manor.

"Oh shit," He said. He scrambled out of the bed, grabbed Kaelin's wrist and pulled her quickly to her feet and charged forward, snagging Dommy at the waist and throwing all three of them out of the room. He spun back and kicked the door shut before falling heavily back on the carpeted floor.

"W-w-what's g-going on in th-th-th-th-there?" Justine inquired.

"There was something outside the window!" Francis snapped.

"What?" The others cried. Darey reached for the door just as Van Helsing and Ian appeared at the top of the steps.

"What's all this?" Ian demanded angrily. A quick look would show he had been wrenched from his sleep by Kaelin's terrified scream.

"What's going on here?" Van Helsing demanded.

"There's something in there," Kaelin said, pointing ahead.

Ian and Van Helsing looked to the door, and then looked back down at Kaelin in an almost comical type of double-take.

"What sort of mockery is this?" Ian demanded angrily, pulling the girl to her feet to show her Dracula get up.

"We were just trying to scare Francis," Darey said.

"Aren't you going to do something?" Kaelin cried. "That thing is in there!"

"It was Dracula's form," Dommy said softly, almost awed.

Ian looked at him with concern. "Dracula?" He asked.

Van Helsing pushed the door open and stepped inside, even from the protests that came from the others outside. He searched the room to find nothing. Angrily, he spun back and looked at them. "Do you think this is a joke?" He demanded.

"It isn't a joke. It was there at the window," Francis said, still breathing heavily from the unexpected dash.

"Dracula is dead," Ian sneered.

"No he's not! He's not, I saw him!" Kaelin told him.

"You saw a figment of your imagination," Ian told her.

"I _didn't_!" Kaelin insisted.

"She's right, he was there. It was his demonic form, but it was him," Francis said.

"This is impossible," Ian snapped. "Van Helsing saw to his demise five years ago! We lost our only leaders then. He is dead."

"He _isn't_!" Dommy exclaimed. "He's alive and he's out there. He's messing with us now, but he's alive."

Ian looked at the group angrily, his eyes settling on Justine. "Did you see anything?" He asked her.

"I was out here, so no," Justine replied.

"Maybe you just saw a dark cloud or something. We were all hyped on the thrill of scaring the others," Amanda suggested.

Van Helsing said nothing as he turned back into the room and peered out the window. He spun back around and stomped past the children.

"Where are you going?" Ian demanded.

"I am going to look around," Van Helsing demanded.

"There was nothing there!" Ian insisted.

"But what if there was? Are you just going to let whatever _could_ have been there steal your people?" Van Helsing demanded, spinning back to glare at the man.

"Of course not, but this isn't our concern. It is just their imagination," Ian insisted.

"Is it?" Van Helsing asked. He moved closer and was almost nose-to-nose with Ian. "I sense something out there, Mr. _Undoch_. Whether it be man, beast, foe or partner I will find it. My partner has vanished, and I can find nothing on these women that want the children. If you _dare_ to stand in my way of possibly finding any sort of clue – of doing my _job_, I will have to have you discarded. Is that clear?"

Through gritted teeth and with clenched fists, Ian grumbled, "Crystal."

"Good." Van Helsing quickly turned around and started down the hall. "I want you all to stay together, and to stay inside. It isn't a suggestion it is an order," He called before he vanished down the stairs.

The group of friends looked around at each other nervously.


	23. Chapter Twenty Two

AN: This chapter does contain some swearing, I hope you aren't offended.

Through the Veil

CHAPTER TWENTY TWO

Dommy watched as the swords clashed together with a fierce echo throughout the room. Wincing, he said, "Van Helsing was really pissed off last night."

Amanda grunted an answer before leaning in and kicking Darey's dulled sword away from her with a hard shove. Darey made a swift movement to counter the act and had Amanda quickly on the floor. Having trained much of yesterday, and since they woke up today, the two had shown an increase in skill. However, they weren't exactly perfect. Darey tripped over the lace of her boot and dropped the sword just above Amanda. The girl shrieked before rolling out of the way with perfect timing. Darey smashed her jaw hard against the concrete and groaned, trying to keep the tears from leaking at her eyes.

"Oww," She moaned, sitting up and feeling the wound. A bit of blood was quickly oozing out and covered her hand. "Oh great," She grumbled before standing. Amanda did as well, and looked the wound over.

"Dommy, hand me the bucket over there," Amanda instructed. The boy did as was asked before sitting back down on the steps. Amanda brought Darey over to him and handed her the cloth from the bucket of water so that the girl could clean out the scrape.

"Just my luck," Darey murmured, crying out a bit as the disgustingly dirty water touched her skin. She threw the rag across the room. "That's repulsive!"

"Well do you have a better idea?" Amanda demanded. "We need to get that cleaned out, or it will cause infection."

"And that won't?" Darey snapped.

"Don't start arguing with me," Amanda growled.

"Oh, I'll start with you all I want!" Darey exclaimed.

"Okay, everyone's a bit on edge," Dommy said, stepping in quickly. "I can see that. But arguing is not going to help anyone."

The two relaxed and sat in silence while Darey resorted to wiping the blood onto the black shirt. After several minutes Amanda sighed. "He came in late last night."

"I know, I heard him," Darey said. "He didn't find anything."

"And Carl's still missing," Amanda grumbled.

"I'm a little worried about that. Why take Carl?" Darey asked.

"Maybe he just … ran away," Dommy suggested.

"Dommy," The two groaned with frustration.

"Carl wouldn't run away," Amanda said. "There wouldn't be a motive."

"Well what's the motive for taking him?" Dommy countered. "He's annoying and a wuss. Like Francis. I wouldn't want to put up with him."

"Hey mister, you can't call Francis a wuss anymore. He saved your life last night."

"If anything was there in the first place," Amanda countered.

"Are you saying you agree with Ian?" Darey asked, snapping her head to look back at her friend.

"I'm saying there isn't any evidence. We all were pretty wound up last night. Someone says they see Dracula, to another person's eyes it will be Dracula. It could have just been a bat for all we know," The girl said.

"You and the need for logical explanations," Dommy said. "What part of any of this is logical?"

"I fell and hit my head, and am dreaming this whole thing," Amanda said.

"Well you must have hit your head pretty hard because it's full of bullshit," Dommy told her.

Darey looked at him with surprise. "Did you just swear?" She demanded.

Dommy grinned at her. "Of course," He replied, rolling his eyes.

"We're off topic," Amanda said.

"Alright … Carl. What's the motive for taking him? And who would?" Darey wondered out loud.

"There are several reasons if anyone snagged him," Dommy told them. He held up his fingers to count them off. "He's Van Helsing's confidant, right? So maybe he knows something that can bring the monster hunter down. Or maybe Carl knows something that would be useful to us, so he's taken."

"It still doesn't make sense, though," Amanda said with frustration. "Oh, none of this makes sense."

"Exactly. And the only thing left is to make sense of it. Where's VH?" Darey asked.

"He fell asleep on the couch he put Anna on in the movie after blowing dust into her face," Amanda said.

Darey blinked. "Yeah, you could have just said he was asleep," She replied.

Amanda just grinned at her. "Where's the fun in that?" She asked.

Dommy grinned as well, before frowning. "Anyone else feel that?"

"Feel what?" Darey asked.

"A sort of, swishy in your stomach," Dommy asked, placing his hands on his abdomen.

"Sort of," Amanda said, copying his movements. "We're probably just hungry." She stood, gesturing for Darey to do the same and started to leave the room before Dommy snagged her hand and held tightly to it. "Hey!" She exclaimed.

"It's raining outside," He told her.

She glanced back at the window to see the darkness and the downpour of rain. She turned back to her brother with a bit of concern. "So?" She asked.

"What's wrong with him?" Darey asked.

"I don't know. Dommy? Dommy? Dominick!" The boy seemed to snap out of the trance he had fallen into, and his head shot around to meet his sister.

"They're in trouble. All of them!" He exclaimed.

"What? No, Dommy, you're wron-."

"Who's in trouble?" Darey asked, a little frightened by the strange look on the boy's face.

Dommy loosened his grip on his sister, and she pulled away with fear. He met Darey's eyes, and she could see the confusion in his. He licked his lips, his eyebrows furrowed as he looked pensive.

"The villagers, I think. There's something coming for them, and its getting closer," He said.

"The Sreain?" Amanda asked.

"No, something worst."

"How do you know this, Dommy?" Darey asked.

He wrapped his small fingers around hers and he seemed uncertain. "I don't know. I just do. I just do. We have to help them. Amanda," He looked back to his sister. "You need to get Van Helsing. Something evil's coming. Something …" His voice trailed off as his eyes widened, and then began to water a little.

"Dommy!" Amanda cried, pulling her brother into her arms. He pushed her away with frustration.

"Go!" He cried. "He'll know. Tell Van Helsing, he'll know."

Just at that moment the door burst opened and Van Helsing stepped inside. He stared at the children uncertainly, then started forward, grabbing up weapons.

"What's going on?" Darey asked.

"Whatever attacked the others tonight is returning," Van Helsing said stiffly.

"How do you know?" Amanda asked.

"I can sense evil," He said, looking back at her with a sort of frustration. "I can feel it this time. It's possibly stronger than I've ever felt it." With this he looked at Dommy with concern. "What's wrong with him?"

"I'm coming with you," Dommy said, jumping up and reaching for a crossbow. Van Helsing gripped firm to his shirt so the boy couldn't move further.

"You and the others will stay here. None of you are to leave this manor, understand?" He commanded.

Amanda and Darey nodded with shock, but Dommy struggled. "I'm coming with you!"

Van Helsing looked at the girls with annoyance, and Amanda quickly rushed up, pulling her kicking and punching brother into her hands. "Stop it," She hissed.

Van Helsing tossed a few of his things into a bag, and then pushed open the door and disappeared out into the rain.

"Let me go," Dommy exclaimed.

"No way," Darey said. "You heard Van Helsing."

"He isn't the boss of me," Dommy said. "I need to help."

"How do you think you'll help? You're just going to get into the way," Darey snapped.

"I can help him, I really can. Come on, Manda, let me go."

"And let you get torn apart by whatever is out there so that when we finally get home Mom can rat me out for letting you run into battle? I don't think so, you're staying here."

"I don't have to listen to you," He grumbled.

"Oh yes you do," Amanda told him. "I'm in charge when an adult isn't here."

Dommy spun around and kicked her. Crying out, she bent down and let go of him. Quicker than they could notice Dommy had run out the door, not even grabbing a weapon. "Son of a -!" Amanda exclaimed. "What are we going to do?"

"We need to go after him," Darey said as if it were obvious. She quickly went to the door and followed after Dommy's tracks in the rain. Amanda darted out to follow them. Together, Darey and Amanda ran out into the road where they saw Dommy running to catch up with Van Helsing. The world seemed empty, everyone already inside because of the rain. The two, soaking wet and clad in boots, their hair which had escaped their clasps were now continuously flowing into their eyes as they stumbled along. The miniature Van helsing had reached the monster hunter and had caught his attention. Van helsing was quick to yell at him to get back, to stay away.

"Dommy!" Amanda cried as something ducked out of the sky and headed for the two males. She pushed her speed and pushed her brother out of the way as Van helsing spun around to aim spears at the creature. Van Helsing ran a little further away to trail the monster as Darey caught up with Amanda and Dommy. She slumped next to them, shivering, and took Dommy's arm.

"Are you crazy?" She demanded of him. He ignored her, simply staring ahead with fear at the thing fighting Van Helsing.

Darey turned her attention to the teen, who was staring with shock and a bit of horror at the scene before her. "What's wrong?" She asked over the pounding of the rain.

"It's Dracula," Amanda said. "It's really him."

"I told you that already," Dommy snapped. He jumped up and pulled out a dagger which he must have hidden in his boot before the others had arrived in the armory. He tossed it at the beast in the air, and just missed it. Amanda quickly jumped up forcing Darey to do the same.

"We need to get inside," She told him.

"No," Dommy said firmly.

A small grin spread across Darey's face. "Do you have any other weapons?" She shouted over the rain. She watched out of the corner of her eyes as Van Helsing seemed to be losing the battle, firing silver tipped arrows at the monster. The same he had shot at Marishka in the movie. Seemingly irritated, the beast took its human form. Darey turned entirely to gawk at the vampire standing before Van Helsing.

"Here," Dommy said, dropping a pair of silver Tojo blades into Darey's hands. He then turned and handed Amanda a bottle of holy water and a wooden stake. Then he pulled out of his pockets a slingshot.

"Hello, Gabriel," Dracula said with an arrogant smirk.

Van Helsing shifted his footing a little as he narrowed his eyes at the vampire. "Dracula," He said with a slight nod of his head. He continued to keep the cross bow trained on the supposedly deceased vampire.

"It's been some time," Dracula said, taking a booted step forward, then another. Van Helsing glared at him, firing one of the arrows. It lodged itself in the count's shoulder. The vampire looked down at it, and then at Van Helsing. A chuckle rose to his lips as he viciously tore the arrow out whole and dumped it on the ground. Seconds later the wound closed up.

"You're supposed to be dead," Van Helsing replied, firing another arrow.

"But as you can see, I am _very_ much alive," The count answered, meeting Van Helsing's eyes. "Our last battle did not go so well. Now, though, I believe the odds are in my favor."

"How?" Van Helsing demanded.

"Always full of questions," Dracula said. He tilted his head to the side and laughed, spreading his arms out. "Oh, it is good to be back."

"Why are you back?" Van Helsing asked.

Dracula met his gaze and smirked. "For revenge, my friend," He said. Two long teeth elongated from his upper jaw and his face seemed to take on a much more sinister look. He grabbed onto Van Helsing's coat and bent down to bite into his throat. The monster hunter's eyes darted around with shock. He was about to raise his weapon and smash it on the demon's back when the latter jerked away with a startled cry. Van Helsing jumped back and shot an arrow at the creature to slow down its attack.

Dracula danced around for a moment, reaching for the spot of pain, before pulling the now bloodied Tojo blade out of his back with an angry shriek. Throwing it on the ground he glanced around, eyes landing on Darey, Amanda and Dommy. The boy pulled back the band on his slingshot and let it go. A silver ball with jagged bits hanging out smacked Dracula right in the forehead. Wincing, he dug his fingers in and pulled the object out. A soon as it had healed he turned to Van Helsing.

"Who are your friends, Gabriel?" He asked, his irritation evident even as he tried not to show it.

Van Helsing looked back at the kids angrily. "Damn it," He muttered.

Dracula caught him off guard by whipping his fist around and knocking the hunter off his feet before he jumped into the air, instantly transforming and racing for the children.

"Run!" Darey shrieked. The kids scattered and dispersed, running away from the creature that was heading for them. Seeing Dracula heading for Darey, Amanda squirted the bottle of holy water at the monster's back. It cried out as it burned into its skin and then grew back. It ignored her and continued after Darey. Several arrows were shot at its wings at the same time as the silver balls were thrown into it's skin and face.

Dracula fell to the ground and turned back into a human. He stood, limping, and began to tear the arrows out of his skin and brush the silver balls off. He seemed very furious, and judging by the glare he was shooting the recuperating troops, he was desperate to be tearing them apart instead of the arrows. Clean, he turned on Van Helsing first.

"You've trained them well," He said, disgust on his face.

"I didn't train them at all," Van Helsing replied, bringing up his crossbow and aiming it at the creature's heart.

Dracula grinned, and spread his arms out. "We can play all day, Gabriel. However, I would like to get to killing you. And then I'll take care of your friends."

"Leave them out of this," Van Helsing said. "This is just you and me."

"Fine," Dracula said. He took a stroll forward, assessing Van Helsing's figure. Shaking his head he laughed. "You never change, you know that? You were always ready to fight on the side of _justice_. You were so foolish."

"Foolish to you. I wouldn't expect a monster to begin to understand how anyone could care for the safety of others," Van Helsing replied.

The teens watched the scene nervously, their cold bodies dripping and shivering, only warmed moment before by the exhilaration and action. Dommy tried to fire off his slingshot but his fingers were shaking so much he couldn't get the little balls onto the padding connected to the elastic. Angrily, he threw the thing down and tossed the ball, which Dracula caught in his hand and tossed aside, focusing all his attentions on the hunter before him.

"We have to help him," Dommy said. Though his lips were shaking his voice came out sounding clear.

"This is their fight, Dommy," Amanda snapped angrily.

"We'll only help by letting Van Helsing handle him," Darey added.

"Van Helsing _can't_ handle him! He isn't a werewolf anymore," Dommy snapped.

Dracula grinned at the sentence. "Not a werewolf," He said, meeting Van Helsing's eyes. "Now how did that happen?"

Van Helsing raised his cross bow. Seeing this, Dracula transformed, rushed forward and grabbed the object in his clawed feet. Then he tossed it off in the direction of the manor. Van Helsing turned around to see Dracula, still in his demonic form, reaching out for Dommy and Amanda, the closest to him.

"No!" He cried. He started forward as the two spun around to see Dracula coming closer. Dommy gasped in surprise, and Amanda grabbed her brother's hand, pulling him to her as they were about to duck. The monster lowered himself to the children, but before he could grab them a shot rang out and he fell back on the ground.

Surprised by the noise which caused any and all silence aside from the rain to stop, Amanda and Dommy sat up to stare at the writhing vampire on the ground. He turned back into his normal form and gasped in surprise. The two looked at each other, then back at Darey who was staring with surprise at where the gun shot had come from. They then looked to Van Helsing, who was also gawking in the same direction as Darey. Swallowing, Amanda and Dommy turned their head at the same time to see who had fired the gun. And then, both jaws dropped.


	24. Chapter Twenty Three

AN: Thanks to Fortune Zyne, and HughJackmanFan

Through the Veil

FLASHBACK

_Van Helsing turned around to see Dracula, still in his demonic form, reaching out for Dommy and Amanda, the closest to him._

"_No!" He cried. He started forward as the two spun around to see Dracula coming closer. Dommy gasped in surprise, and Amanda grabbed her brother's hand, pulling him to her as they were about to duck. The monster lowered himself to the children, but before he could grab them a shot rang out and he fell back on the ground._

_Surprised by the noise which caused any and all silence aside from the rain to stop, Amanda and Dommy sat up to stare at the writhing vampire on the ground. He turned back into his normal form and gasped in surprise. The two looked at each other, then back at Darey who was staring with surprise at where the gun shot had come from. They then looked to Van Helsing, who was also gawking in the same direction as Darey. Swallowing, Amanda and Dommy turned their head at the same time to see who had fired the gun. And then, both jaws dropped._

CHAPTER TWENTY THREE

Dommy blinked several times as he stared at the woman before him. "Isn't that the vampire lady from that movie, New World?" He asked.

Amanda turned to him with annoyance. "That's Anna! And the movie's Underworld."

Dommy just grinned smugly. "I told you she'd be back."

"Anna Valerious," Dracula said as he sat up, the bullet wound now healed. He stepped forward, forcing Amanda to jump up and grab Dommy, pulling him with her. They quickly moved over to Anna as did Darey and Van Helsing. The teens and Dommy glared angrily at Dracula, weapons in hand as Anna aimed the gun at the count. Van Helsing stared at Anna with surprise for only a moment before he turned and met Dracula's cold gaze.

"I heard you were dead," Dracula continued.

"Likewise," Anna replied in her thick Transylvanian accent. Dracula laughed.

"And both by the same hand," Dracula said. "Or should I saw Paw?"

"You don't know what you're talking about!" Dommy snapped.

"Neither do you," Darey hissed in a whisper.

"I know I don't like this guy. The evil is rolling off him like steam," Dommy whispered back.

"And the child speaks," Dracula said, looking Dommy over with renewed interest. Amanda pulled her brother closer to her chest protectively.

"You're fight isn't with them, Dracula," Van Helsing repeated for the second time that day.

The count smiled, studying the group before him as he paced the street. "I was going to let them go," He said. "To be honest I only wanted you. I gave you a choice five years ago, Gabriel. You chose to kill me instead. I think revenge will be at its best. You killed my brides, my children. Now I shall take those dear to you … again."

He transformed into the beast and ran for the huddled group.

"Run!" Anna cried. She took several large steps back and then aimed the gun at the monster which was heading first for her. She winced as she heard the sound of the shot fill the barren land. She turned and began to run swiftly down the street, her heart pounding sharply in her chest. She glanced back to see that Dracula was still pursuing her - until several arrows shot into the beast's skin. Anna jerked back around and started in the opposite direction so that Dracula had to force himself to a stop mid-flight. He jerked back around just as Anna approached Van Helsing.

"Hello," She said breathlessly, pulling up to his side and whipping out the gun.

"Hello," Van Helsing replied, giving her the same charming smile. The two lifted their weapons into the air and fired off continuously. Dracula cried out as the arrows and bullets pierced through his skin. It didn't take long for a Tojo blade to slice into his back, holy water to squirt into his eyes, and the meshed balls to become embedded into his skin. With the joined effort, it seemed as if they stood a chance. A slim one, and one that would only stall the beast, but it was a chance. Dracula stumbled to the ground, lying there and ceased movement. The group stopped their fire, and stared at the seemingly lifeless carcass.

Van Helsing turned to the kids. "Get out of here while you can," He snapped.

"And leave you two here with him?" Dommy exclaimed. "You guys don't stand a chance."

"Neither do you," Anna told them.

Dommy frowned. "You just came back! You think we're just going to leave you to die again?"

"Dommy, shut up!" Amanda and Darey chimed.

"We know what we're doing. You've only been here three days," Van Helsing snapped. "Go back to the manor."

"We're not budging!" Dommy snapped. Of course, seconds later he was jerked into the air by two clawed hands. Dracula let out a maniacal laugh.

"Damn," Van Helsing muttered.

"Dommy!" Amanda shrieked fearfully. She watched helplessly as the count dropped Dommy, and then caught him again.

Van Helsing raised his arms and prepared to fire the crossbow when Dracula hurled Dommy at him, knocking him over. Then, he swept down and pulled the Princess into his grip. Van Helsing sat up dizzily, checked to make sure the boy was fine, and then jumped up.

"Isn't this familiar, Gabriel?" The vampire asked; flying into the air as Anna struggled.

Amanda quickly helped Dommy to his feet as Darey went to Van Helsing's side. "Don't let him get to you," She warned.

He pushed her away and moved forward. "Let her go, Dracula!" Van Helsing snapped angrily.

"If you insist," The count said. His claws loosened on Anna and she began to plummet to the ground. Van Helsing jumped forward to catch her just as Dracula did. He once again took her to the sky, the rain still pouring down on the six of them, and began to laugh.

Dommy's eyes darted around before he saw the crossbow. Eyes lighting up he ran towards it. He looked at Van Helsing to see the hunter was too focused on making certain the recently returned princess didn't fall. Frowning, Dommy attempted to lift the heavy machinery into his hands. He grunted, and then sat on the ground instead and aimed the crossbow at the beast. Pulling the trigger so that an arrow flew through the air, but Dracula dodged just in time. The creature glared down at Dommy as the boy moved it to head for the vampire again. Once again the vampire moved out of the way, forcing Dommy to swear under his breath.

Looking back at Dommy, Van Helsing frowned, and then started forward to pull the weapon from the boy. What if Dommy missed and hit Anna instead?

"Look out!" Darey cried.

Van Helsing's head jerked back around to see the beast slam into him. He gasped in surprise as he was tossed hard against the tree. "That's going to bruise," He muttered under his breath. He looked up to see that Anna had been tossed away as well, but was now hanging from the edge of a local building. Glancing around through his rain- soaked hair, Van Helsing couldn't catch a glimpse of the demon at all. Dommy, Amanda, and Darey had run over to try and catch Anna if she was to fall, but the demon was gone. Van Helsing stood, wincing at the pain in his side before he limped in the direction of the children. He should have been prepared, but his worry for Anna, his need to see her, feel her and be certain she was actually there had clouded his judgment. Therefore, he was very much surprised when the demon once again gave him a hard shove, lifting him from the ground as he flew into the local brick building.

The teens looked over in surprise. "VH!" Dommy exclaimed, making a move to go forward when Anna let out a startled cry as she tumbled towards the ground. Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it, Dracula swooped down and caught her in his grip. Anna looked down at the ground a little surprised, and then glanced at the monster. He seemed to grin through that monstrous face.

"Do you like to fly?" He asked her almost casually.

Anna looked back down as her stomach lurched. Just what would happen next?

"My offer still stands, Princess," Dracula said, swerving about and beginning to leave the area all together. Anna tried to ignore the feeling of panic that had set in. "I need a new bride, what with all others being destroyed. One by you, it seems."

"The only thing I want to do with you, count," Anna said, choking back the bile that rose in the back of her throat. "Is to remove that head from your body."

"You can try," The vampire said with humor. He jerked back around and swung the princess forward to tumble through the air. All breath in the viewers below was held to see what would happen to Anna. Not too surprisingly, Dracula caught her by the foot so that she was hanging upside down. The teens noticed the way Anna's face turned a slight green for a moment there before she was tossed back up and caught by the shoulders. The beast set her down on the ground before transforming again. He pulled her to him from behind.

"Let her go!" Van Helsing said; wincing as pain shot through his arm.

Dracula grinned. "Perhaps I'll keep her," He answered. "After all, you have nothing else to hold my interest."

"Why you cocky, arrogant -," Amanda started before Darey put her hand over her mouth.

"Do you want to get him angrier?" She asked.

Van Helsing limped forward, to meet Dracula's eyes. "let her go. I'll agree to anything if you let her go."

"We don't need you," Dracula said. "But that is a very fine offer." He grinned darkly, before jerking back in pain. He released his hold over Anna, and the princess backed over to Van Helsing.

"Are you alright?" She asked him with concern.

He nodded. "Are you?" He asked.

"Never better," She replied.

After a moment Dracula was tackled to the ground, a young woman straddling over him. She jerked her head around, wavy brown hair flailing about.

"Get out of here!" She snapped angrily to the others. She turned back to the count and the two began to fight.

"We have to do something," Anna said, staring at the scene before her.

"Agreed," Van helsing said. He started to move forward, but stumbled, Anna being fortunate enough to help him steady his balance.

"You're injured," Anna said with worry.

"Guys, we don't have time for this," Amanda said, looking at the count and the woman.

"Come on, we need to get you two out of here," Darey said, trying to hurry them along. Dommy grabbed onto Van Helsing's hand in an attempt to gain reassurance. The group of five began to hurry to the manor even as the sounds of snarls and cries of pain filled the air. Darey slipped away from the group that was making their way back, and looked from behind a tree at the fight.

Dracula was obviously winning, but the girl seemed to have some sort of control over him. She had just kicked the count off of her and was jumping up.

"It isn't your time!" The girl snapped angrily at the count. "Back off!"

The vampire sneered angrily at her, but seemed to understand her words as he transformed once again and flew away. Darey watched as the girl waited for him to vanish before looking around. He gaze just passed over Darey to see the others just reaching the manor. Then it came to Darey again.

"You shouldn't be here," She said.

"Who are you?" Darey asked, stepping back from her post.

"Kael Vahn. And there's nothing more you need to know," Kael said. Then she turned around and ran off, so fast Darey had little time to acknowledge it.

Eyes wide in concern, Darey raced off to the manor to tell them of their rescuer's name.


	25. Chapter Twenty Four

AN: Thanks to Fortune Zyne, Ithilwenn, HughJackmanFan, Dragon, and Aradia-Hornbeam. Wanted to say to everyone who read the last chapter that I am sorry if it was really bad. I tried, but it's only fair to say I myself was disappointed with that chapter. I'm gonna try to make the next ones to come better, though. : )

Ithilwenn: Okay, perhaps I should explain that Dommy/Anna part. See, as I'm sure you know Anna is played by Kate Beckinsale, who also plays Selene in Underworld. So one day I was talking with Dommy, and I was showing him some pictures from the Van Helsing movie, and he thought Anna was Selene, so that's where that came from. Also, you'll find out why Dracula didn't have reinforcements in the next chapter. Thanks for the review!

Aradia-Hornbeam: Don't you call me woman, lol. Glad you like the lines, thanks for the review!

Through the Veil

CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR

Anna pushed open the door. "It seems as if you've dislocated your shoulder," She said, helping Van Helsing limp inside the manor. Dommy still held tight to the hunter's hand as Amanda closed the door behind her, just noticing that Darey wasn't there. Frowning, she turned back to the group to tell them when Anna set Van Helsing down in a bench.

"You'll need to put it back in," Van Helsing told Anna, wincing as he studied the limp arm.

The princess nodded, bending down and taking his arm into her fingers. "This will hurt," She warned him.

"I'm used to it," He replied.

Dommy scooted away, studying the way Anna and Van Helsing had looked at each other. He jumped up and walked over to his sister, frowning only when he heard Van Helsing's angry cry as the shoulder was popped back into place.

"That's just gross," Dommy said with a grimace. Darey pushed through the door and looked at the group before her.

"Okay, who's Kael Vahn?" Darey demanded, hands on her hips.

"Who?" Anna asked, glancing up to look at her. "And who are you?"

"Oh, that's Darey. That's my sister Amanda, and I'm Dommy. You're Anna, he's Van Helsing, and Kael Vahn is … hmm, I don't know her," Dommy said, looking somewhat confused as he rubbed his chin.

Van Helsing frowned and then looked up at Darey. "I've never heard of her," he replied. He glanced down at his injured arm before standing.

"Van Helsing?" He heard someone snap angrily. Seconds later Ian turned down the hall, stopping dead when he caught sight of Anna. His frustrated look faded away, his shoulders dropping with ease as his mouth fell open. It was a rather comical sight. All words seemed to have vanished from his mind as he gawked.

"This is almost funny," Dommy said.

"Almost," Darey agreed.

"Eh … what?" Ian finally asked, his mouth snapping shut as his eyes widened. "Anna?"

"Ian?" Anna said, studying the young man with slight confusion.

"You two know each other," Van Helsing stated.

"Ian is my cousin," Anna said, still seemingly confused.

"Whoa, I didn't see that coming," Amanda finally said.

"Her father married my aunt, Anna's mother," Ian explained.

"Okay, you hoo? I think we've established Anna is back. Now who can tell me about Kael Vahn?" Darey demanded.

Ian looked at her, golden eyes flashing dangerously. "What are you talking about?"

"Kael Vahn," Darey repeated. "She's this woman who pops out of nowhere and chased Dracula off."

"Dracula's returned?" Ian exclaimed, the color draining from his face.

"He's a little slow on the uptake, isn't he?" Dommy commented.

Van Helsing stood, unable to help the small gasp of pain as he did so. "We just fought Dracula. He has returned, and I suspect whoever brought him back was also responsible for bringing Anna back." Then he turned to look at Anna fro confirmation. She, however, simply frowned.

"How _did_ you come back?" Amanda finally asked.

Anna looked around at the group that was surrounding her. "I don't remember," She said.

Darey blinked. "She doesn't remember. Well that's just great. This person might end up bringing back any other monstrosity, and then what? We're doomed." She flopped down on the bench which Dommy had occupied moments before.

"We can't just give up," Amanda said.

Van Helsing looked to Anna. "What do you remember?" He asked her.

She smiled faintly. "I was with my family. We were riding along an old trail we used to go to when I was younger."

"… You do realize you were dead, don't you?" Dommy asked bluntly.

Anna looked at him with a smile. "Death is very much like life," She answered.

"Hmm. Maybe I should die," Dommy said.

"That isn't even funny!" Amanda snapped as she smacked him on the arm.

"So what happened?" Ian demanded.

"Then I was in the forest alone. After walking for a bit I heard the commotion and found Van Helsing and the children fighting Dracula," Anna replied.

"I'm not a child," Dommy muttered under his breath.

"So you didn't see anyone?" Van Helsing asked.

"No. There was no one," Anna replied. "I'm not entirely certain I understand how I am here. Or Dracula."

"Well duh. Someone brought you two back to life," Dommy said.

"Why would someone bring Anna and Dracula back to life?" Van Helsing asked her.

"Maybe for show? The princess and the count fighting once again. I'd pay big money to see it," Darey suggested.

"So then Dracula has truly returned?" Ian asked, looking nervous. "This is not good. Do you know what could happen if he was united with the Sreain?"

Everyone's mind began to wander at the thought, when suddenly Darey's head shot up and she looked at Ian.

"You know about the Sreain?" She asked.

He stiffened. "I know what you know."

"The Sreain?" Anna asked, looking at them curiously.

Darey continued to study Ian with renewed suspicion as Van Helsing started to fill Anna in on what they had been working on. Seeing the way Darey was watching him, Ian chose the moment to take his leave as Van Helsing continued in his explanation. He was almost to the end of the tale when Stefie and Francis came running into the room.

"Thank god we found you!" Stefie exclaimed. "You won't believe who we ran into!"

Darey raised her eyebrows, and subtly gestured to Anna. Francis noticed this, and stared in surprise before poking Stefie.

"Stop it!" The short girl exclaimed, moving away. "VH, we found Carl! Or, actually, he found us, but you won't believe -."

"Stef!" Francis snapped.

"What?" Stefie asked with irritation. Francis grabbed onto Stef's shoulders and turned her to face the princess.

"Stefie, we have a guest," He said softly.

Stefie stared at the supposedly dead princess for a long moment, and then let out an excited squeal. "You're here!" She cried, running to the princess and throwing her arms around her. Then she quickly pulled back and stared at the woman with wide eyes. "How is this possible?"

Amanda rolled her eyes. "She gets transported to another world and yet she wants to know how it is possible that an imaginary character in a _movie_ is here," She grumbled.

"Are you still on that?" Dommy asked.

"We're trying to figure it out," Darey told Stefie.

The girl looked at her. "I'm confuzzled," She said.

"Wait, did you say you found Carl?" Van Helsing interrupted.

"Oh yea, Carl," Stefie said. "Well, he's back. That's the good news. The _bad_ news is that he doesn't remember anything."

"What?" Everyone exclaimed.

"Define anything," Darey said cautiously.

"Well he remembers leaving us at breakfast, and then … sayonara friar," Stefie informed, gesturing to her mind as if she considered Carl to be crazy.

"He said the next thing he knew he was in the library, and Kaelin and Justine started screaming," Francis filled in.

"Could things get any more complicated?" Dommy wondered out loud.

"Indeed," Van helsing muttered.

"Oh, you're bleeding," Stefie said simply. She stepped forward and tugged at Van Helsing's coat. Anna noticed this, and helped her take the coat off of the monster hunter. He looked down at his arm and saw that his arm had gotten pretty scraped up.

"We should clean this out," Anna said.

"What about you?" Van Helsing asked, finally taking a good look at Anna. "Did you get hurt?"

"I'm fine. Not a scratch," The princess told him.

Frowning, Stefie put her hands on her hips and looked around the group. "Will _somebody_ tell me what's going on?" She demanded.

Dommy sighed. "It's sort of a long and getting further complicated by the moment story," He told her.

LATER

Kaelin shook her head as she stared across at Amanda and Dommy. "My head hurts," She finally said.

"So let me get this straight," Justine said. "Dracula's back, Anna's back, and Carl's back. Carl had no clue he was _gone_, Drac wants revenge against VH, Anna's back from the dead, but you're not sure how, Drac still seems to have a thing for Anna – who is, according to Stefie, his too many times great niece – some strange lady named Kael Vahn is either working with Dracula, the Sreain, or us, while Dracula _may_ be working with the Sreain, Ian's acting suspicious again, and we're _still_ stuck in this imaginary world based after a _movie_. Do I have everything covered?"

"Yea, that's pretty much all of it," Dommy said with a grin.

"Okay, now my head hurts more than when she explained it," Kaelin grumbled, pointing across to Darey.

"So where is this Anna, anyways?" Justine asked.

"With Van Helsing," Stefie said with a soft sigh. "I think they're so cute together."

Kaelin allowed a small grin to spread across her face. "I don't know. I think two blondes in here are a pretty cute couple," She said. The others began to snicker.

"You mean Justine and _Francis_?" Dommy asked with disgust.

"God, no!" Justine exclaimed. "She means _Stefie_ and Francis!"

At this, the two mentioned became an even darker shade of red than they already were.

"Yes, well …" Francis said, as he attempted to think of a reply, before he cleared his throat and looked away.

Stefie turned around and looked up at him, only beginning to realize how it must look with her sitting on his lap like that. She quickly moved away, and then grinned at the others. "Anyways, I think it's a good thing Anna's back."

"How come?" Amanda asked.

"One more ally," Stefie replied easily, her humiliation from moments before quickly forgotten.

Francis frowned, turning a little in his seat as he eyed Dommy. "I don't get it," he said.

"You don't get what?" Darey inquired.

"Well you said Dommy knew Dracula was coming. Like Van Helsing did. Doesn't anyone else find something wrong with this?" He inquired.

"It was creepy," Amanda admitted, glancing at her dark haired brother.

He turned to meet her gaze. "What are you talking about?" He asked her.

"About you," Darey said with a hint of frustration. "About how you did that totally psychic thing. You do remember it, don't you?"

Dommy shrugged. "Vaguely. Everything happened so quickly, I doubt I could tell you how it started."

"So to top things off we have to be somewhat concerned that Dommy might be becoming psychic," Francis said.

Amanda snorted. "Dommy? Psychic? No way. It's entirely improbable."

"But not impossible," Dommy teased. She frowned at him while Kaelin sat up.

"So what do we do?" She asked.

"Well, there's nothing we _can_ do," Justine told her.

"What about Ian?" Francis asked.

"He has to know something about the Sreain. Whatever it is he's not telling, but I can guarantee he knows something," Darey said.

"So we're still on the 'Ian's a bad guy' thing?" Justine asked.

"Sorry Justine. You're lover boy is evil," Stefie said simply with a shrug of her shoulders.

"He isn't my lover boy," Justine said, looking angrily at the short girl.

"You just wish he was," Kaelin finished with a grin.

Justine narrowed her eyes at her, but said nothing.

"Can we focus?" Darey asked.

"What's there to focus on?" Stefie inquired.

"Well, I don't know. I have a theory," Darey said.

"Oh boy," Amanda said, throwing her hands into the air mockingly.

"It is evident that we cannot return home until we help solve all the tribulations in Vaseria," Darey replied.

"Thank you Mrs. Obvious," Dommy joked while rolling his eyes.

Darey shot him a dark look, causing the boy to cringe. "The only thing is," She continued. "How can we help them? What do we have to do with any of this?"

"That's your epiphany?" Amanda asked dubiously. "Asking yourself the same question all of us have asked ourselves since we got here! If that's the best you've got, you need to catch up with the rest of us."

Darey frowned. "There has to be a connection somewhere," She said slowly.

"There aren't any," Kaelin finally said. "I've gone through all of it in my head - god, must be seventy times now - and every time there's nothing. Not a single connection."

"There has to be," Darey insisted.

"Let's start with what we know," Justine said, pushing her blond hair away from her face as she leaned in closer. "Dracula can only come out at night, right?"

"Right," Francis said.

"So obviously that hasn't changed, because he came last night and during the storm, where there was no sun or hint at light," Justine said.

"Whoever brought Dracula back brought Anna back afterwards, which means that …" Amanda bit her lip thoughtfully.

"Which means they didn't want someone to know they'd brought Anna back," Dommy finished.

"So there's more than one person involved," Darey continued.

"I'll take notes," Stefie said, jumping up and rummaging through the old cabinets to find any sort of script. She returned with several sheets of paper and took a seat with the others at the large table. Within seconds she had written everything down. "What else?" She asked.

Darey bit her thumb nervously. "Dracula and Van Helsing knew each other," She said slowly.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Kaelin asked.

"It could be nothing, or it could be something," Darey replied. "The point is to take note of anything. Even the things that seem the most obsolete."

"Okay," Stefie said as she scribbled on the paper.

"What about the Sreain?" Francis asked.

"I think it's been established that they're after us. Perhaps they know the connection with us and coming here," Justine said.

"What if whoever brought Anna and Dracula back were the same person who brought us here?" Dommy asked.

"Don't be stupid," Francis said.

"No, it can't be overlooked. Stefie, write it down," Darey commanded.

"I'm already on it, Captain," Stefie said with a salute.

"Don't forget that Shale Bahn," Kaelin said.

"Kael Vahn," Darey corrected. "Where does she tie in?"

"Maybe she's an old friend returning a favor," Dommy suggested.

"Maybe," Darey said.

Stefie slowly raised her head to look at Darey. "What about Castle Dracula?" She asked softly.

"What about it?"

"What if there were some answers there? He's been around for a while. Isn't there a chance he'd have some knowledge of the Sreain at least?"

"But he might have gone back there," Francis said.

"He wouldn't be stupid enough to go back to the castle," Dommy said.

"Yea, just like he wasn't _stupid_ enough to come to the manor last night?" Justine said sarcastically, looking pointedly at Stefie.

The other girl frowned. "A small miscalculation. Besides, he didn't actually come inside. Besides, don't you think his lair would have info?"

Francis frowned. "How are you taking this, Stefie?" He asked, sitting up. "You said you wanted to meet him."

Stefie tossed a grin over her shoulders. "We'll meet eventually," She said. "Just when we do, we'll fight."

"That's a bit of a twisted fantasy, don't you think?" Amanda asked.

Stefie shrugged. "Either way's good," She replied.

AN: So what did you guys think? Bad chapter? Good chapter? Please REVIEW and let me know, okay?


	26. Chapter Twenty Five

Through the Veil

CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE

"I asked you to do one job. I say, 'go to the village and get one of the strangers'. Is that so hard to do? I did not have you returned to us so that you could play around with the monster hunter. You can have Gabriel as soon as our mission is complete!" Deidre snapped angrily, pacing in front of the count.

"I was going to take one of the children," Dracula said with fierce irritation, annoyed with being talked down to by this woman. "But a surprising guest showed up."

"Don't tell me Kael interfered," Deidre groaned. "That woman would _dare_ not risk it."

"She wasn't the only person to arrive," Dracula told her, smiling smugly at the way Deidre seemed confused. For once in a long time he seemed to have something over her. "The princess is back."

Deidre narrowed her eyes. "What princess?" She asked slowly, almost hesitantly.

"Anna," Dracula said, his eyes glittering with mirth.

All of Deidre's dominance seemed to vanish before the counts eyes as she spluttered for any words of reply. Finally she spun around and kicked heatedly at her chair, sending debris flying into the air, and yet her foot seemed unharmed. "Damn it! They told me that line was deceased!"

"It was," Dracula said. "But she's returned."

"Of course she has," Deidre said. She let out a crazed laugh as she moved along the floor of her chamber. "But of course she has. There is always something. Always there, foiling. No matter what we do he has a plan to counteract. And that plan is always …" She closed her mouth with aggravation before throwing her head back and staring at the ceiling. "Do you enjoy? Are we here simply for your pleasure? I hope this is something you take well."

"He won't answer you," Dracula said, stepping up behind Deidre. She spun to look at him, her fingernails digging into her fist.

"Back down, count," Deidre said through clenched teeth, waiting for the count to step aside. He did so pleasantly, watching as the queen moved away from him. "You _will_ learn your place, whether you like it or no. You are not in the favor anymore. It would do well to remember this."

"What do I get for helping you?" Dracula asked.

"What do you want?" Deidre enquired.

"Van Helsing. And Kael," Dracula said.

Deidre couldn't hide the small, almost sad smile that appeared on her lips. "Always the one for revenge, count. Fine, you may have just that. Just get me one of those children."

AN: Is it just me, or are the 'bad guy' chapters getting shorter and shorter? Umm, if anyone didn't get it, the 'He' that Deidre refers to is supposed to be God


	27. Chapter Twenty Six

AN: Thanks to Fortune Zyne, Ithilwenn, Aradia-Hornbeam, and HughJackmanFan!

Ithilwenn: Yes, Kael Vahn is a woman. For reference, it was mentioned in Chapter Eighteen. Also for reference, it was Stefie who ran up and hugged Anna. As for the rest, ha, ha, you'll just have to keep reading!

Aradia-Hornbeam: Glad you like the line, lol. Thanks for the compliment!

Through the Veil

CHAPTER TWENTY SIX

Anna pulled tighter at Van Helsing's stitches. The man ground his teeth together but said nothing in turn. "That should be all of it," She told him, stepping away.

"Thank you," Van Helsing grunted, glancing down at his injuries.

"It was nothing," Anna said. She moved across the room to put the medical supplies away.

"I'm sorry," Van Helsing finally said after a long moment. Anna turned back to study him curiously.

"For what?" She asked, even though she had a suspicion as to what.

"For … killing you," Van Helsing said uncertainly.

Anna smiled. "I forgave you long ago, Van Helsing. In a way you gave me a gift. I was with my family once again, and we were all allowed through St. Peter's gates. So I thank _you_."

Van Helsing smiled grimly. "It's good to see I managed to do something right with that fiasco."

"You did many things right," Anna told him, leaning against the desk. "You need to stop punishing yourself for your 'sins'. You've saved so many lives. Now relax, for I am here now."

Van Helsing grinned his usual as he looked up at her. "I'm glad you've returned, Anna," He said slowly. "Although I am very curious in what part you will play in any of this."

"What part are any of us playing?" Anna countered as she took a seat across from Van Helsing. "Tell me more of the children."

The monster hunter groaned. "They are quite a handful. I believe they are more trouble than they are worth."

"They are just children," Anna pointed out.

"Yes, but one of them is always trying to jump into the fight," Van Helsing said with slight annoyance. "They could have gotten themselves killed today. Why did they risk it? Because they thought it would be fun. The children know nothing about safety. They think this is all one joke."

"But according to you they have not dealt with these things that you face. They don't understand the dangers like you and I. Now, however …" Anna's voice trailed off.

"They just want to fight more," Van Helsing filled in as he sat back. "They are convinced they will only be able to leave if they help me destroy this threat."

"I can see their reasoning," Anna said. "If what they say is true then it is the only logical reason why they could come here."

"It's too dangerous for them," Van Helsing snapped.

"You always were quick to care for other people, Van Helsing. Like when you wouldn't let me go after Dracula. I suppose it is just … part of who you are," Anna said. "I suspect the children will be able to handle themselves when the time comes, and so we should let them."

"They have no training. You had training. My job is to fight these creatures -."

"Don't throw your job in my face, Gabriel," She snapped.

"You don't like the church much, do you?" Van Helsing asked.

"I disapprove of the Vatican's methods. I don't see the point in keeping everything hidden," Anna said.

"I don't see it either," Van Helsing agreed. "But they are only doing it for the best. Imagine the reactions that would be held to discover that … could you imagine the distrust to discover that the church was behind such carnage? Even if those that were killed – accidentally, mind you – were all monsters?"

"Hmm …" Anna murmured thoughtfully as she studied the wall. Although she wouldn't mind discussing this further with Gabriel, she decided it was a need to change topic – at least for now. "The manor has changed so much."

"I noticed it," Van Helsing replied. "It doesn't seem as …."

"Dark," The Princess supplied. "There was never time to make the manor look comforting. I'm glad to see that Ian has taken good care of the place while he could."

"Yes, about Ian," Van Helsing began.

Anna's head shot up to study the monster hunter. "What about him?" She asked.

"The kids have been acting skittish around him," Van Helsing answered.

Frowning, Anna said, "I don't understand. They are almost the same age, are they not?"

"Precisely," Van Helsing replied. "Is it possible that he may be working with our enemies?"

"Of course not," Anna said, looking surprised by the question. "Ian's always had the best intentions. For an Undoch. He'd be wise enough to never get involved with anything of that stature."

"Then how come everything here has been so perfect?" Van Helsing asked. "Surely there would be a slight disruption in a five year period. Even the slightest."

Anna stiffened. "Ian isn't like that. He is still a good leader, even if he is young. Besides, why would he attract your attentions here if he were working with these Sreain's?"

"Maybe to set a trap. Dracula's back, Anna. I doubt that was an accident."

"Of course it wasn't," Anna snapped. "It's a simple distraction. They're trying to lead you away from their goal."

"How do you know that? They could have attacked the manor while we were preoccupied with Dracula."

"Evil of that nature cannot enter the manor. It is guarded by the holy pact of one of our ancestor's," Anna replied.

"Velkan entered," Van Helsing said harshly.

Anna narrowed her eyes darkly at him. "Velkan still had a small hold over his will. He was not completely evil."

"Alright," Van Helsing relented.

"Anyways, how do you know that their goal was to enter the manor? It could have been anything," Anna replied.

"Because they were after the children," Van Helsing said. "That's who they were after before."

"What purpose could the children possibly serve them?" Anna wondered out loud. The room fell into a comfortable silence as the Princess was deep in thought. "We need to find Dracula's layer. Is there a chance he still resides beyond the mirror?"

Van Helsing shook his head. "I doubt it. It would be too easy."

"Still," Anna said, moving towards the door. "I believe we should do a bit of investigating." She took a lantern into her hands and spun to face the monster hunter. The afore mentioned stood, flexing his arm with a slight grimace before nodding.

"That is an excellent idea," He agreed with a wide grin. "It's good to have you back, Anna."

"It's good to be back," The princess replied with a smile in return. Then she turned on her heal and marched out of the room, quickly accompanied by Van Helsing.

ELSEWHERE IN THE MANOR

"Ouch! You stepped on my foot _again_," Someone hissed.

"_Sorrrreeeee_," Another voice replied. There was a sound of material rusting as the speaker moved around, before …

"That's my arm!" A new voice exclaimed.

"I can't see a thing," A male voice grumbled.

"So turn on a light, why don't ya?"

"Does anyone have a flashlight?"

"Get off of my foot!"

"I'm not on your foot."

"Oh yes you are you little -."

"I think I found a match!"

"Who's holding my hand?"

"Oops, sorry," Came the sheepish reply.

"Did I ever mention before that I hate matches?"

"Oh, give me that you stupid – oomph!"

At that moment the din lit up lightly to reveal Stefie sprawled out on the floor after tripping over the stool, Kaelin stood in between two book cases holding the lantern with a smirk, Amanda was trying to start a fight with the desk, Dommy was reaching for Darey's hand … again, Justine was holding tightly to the chair as if it were a person, and Francis was staring at the upside down match in his hand.

"So that's what was wrong!" He exclaimed joyfully, turning the thing over in his fingers.

"Too late, macho man," Kaelin said sarcastically as Stefie pulled herself into a dazed sitting position.

"Shh!" Darey exclaimed, quickly moving away from Dommy uncertainly. "Do you want them to hear us?"

"Oh come on, they left two minutes ago," Stefie grumbled. Francis bent down and helped her up before she could say any more.

"So it looks like Anna and VH are onto our theory about the castle," Darey said, rubbing her chin.

"And Ian," Dommy added.

"What do we do now?" Amanda asked.

"We follow them, duh," Stefie said, moving towards the door.

"Someone remind me again why we were even spying on them?" Kaelin asked, moving quickly to follow the rest of the group as they entered the hall.

"We weren't spying," Dommy said. "We came to discuss battle tactics, and just happened to overhear their conversation instead. Speaking of which, was anyone else offended by that comment about us being reckless?"

"Aiy," Came the unanimous reply.

"Shh," Darey hissed again. "Stef, do you know where it is VH and the princess were going?"

"To the library!" Stefie exclaimed contentedly.

"How exactly do they suspect to get to Dracula's lair from the _library_?" Justine wondered out loud.

"Oh, _you'll_ see," Amanda said with a secret smile, looking at Stefie and Francis who were also grinning.

"Why is it that I always feel like I'm missing something?" Darey muttered.

NOT TOO FAR AWAY FROM THE KIDS

"This really isn't necessary," Ian grumbled, looking across from himself at the friar. Carl simply frowned, looking rather idiotic in the bug-eyed glasses.

"Until all this is resolved, _everyone_ is a suspect," Carl replied. He turned back to his bag of gadgets and began to sort through them as Ian let out an irritated growl.

"If I were really to be suspected of _anything_ why is it that I'm here with you, when you were just taken?" Ian demanded.

"Is that supposed to be a threat?" Carl asked nervously, pulling the glasses off and lifting a small vial into his hands.

"No!" Ian exclaimed. "What is that?"

Carl's face lit up with excitement. "This, my friend, is something quite extraordinary. It's distilled water from the Adriatic Ocean and a bit of dust from … well, that's one of the _secret_ ingredients."

"I see," Ian said with little interest.

"_Someone remind me again why we were even spying on them_?"

Carl frowned, glancing at the door as Ian quickly jumped up.

"What are those children up to?" He demanded, clenching his fists.

"I'm sure it's nothing," Carl said quickly, turning back to look at his work.

"_How exactly do they suspect to get to Dracula's lair from the _library?"

"Those children are going to start trouble," Ian snapped, starting for the door.

"Where are you going?" Carl demanded, getting up.

"I'm going to go retrieve those children and then proceed to lock them in their rooms so that they can't cause anymore trouble," Ian grumbled.

"I think you should just leave them alone," Carl said. "Surely they can't be getting into trouble at the moment."

"Did you not just hear them? They are planning to go to Dracula's den! It is almost night out, and if Dracula were to find them -."

"How do you expect them to get to Dracula's Lair?" Carl asked, studying the young man.

Ian frowned. "Through the mirror, of course."

"And how would you know about the mirror? Only Van Helsing, Anna and I know about the mirror," Carl told him.

Ian stared at him, looking slightly guilty as if he had been caught in a deep secret, before quickly storming out of the room. Carl jumped up to follow the young man. "Where do you think you're going?" Carl called nervously.

"To get the children. Where else do you think I would be going?"

"I'm not sure if you noticed, but the children don't trust you," Carl pointed out. Ian stopped and spun around, startling the friar.

"And you do?" Ian asked; eyes narrowed.

"Well … I," Carl stuttered.

"You think I took you, don't you?" Ian demanded.

"Anyone could be responsible," Carl said, fidgeting with his fingers.

"But you think it was me. You don't trust me, just like those children," Ian said.

"You haven't given us reason to," Carl choked out.

"I don't need you to trust me, just to listen to me," Ian grumbled. He turned back around and started down the corridor.

"Are you still going after the children?"

"It's for their own safety," Ian called back.

Carl quickly followed after him, Van Helsing's warning not to let the young man out of his sight echoed in his mind. "Well allow me to accompany you," Carl said. Ian suppressed a groan. Stopping in his tracks when he caught sight of the children around the corner. They were just about to enter the library, standing outside and peering in as if there were someone there. He pressed against the wall and glanced around the corner, studying the kids. It was so, they were standing outside the library, one looking in through a crack in the door.

"What are you -?" Carl didn't get to finish his sentence seeing as Ian pushed him gently up against the wall.

"Be quiet," he whispered. "They're up to something."

A LITTLE WAYS AWAY

Peering around another corner two eyes studied Ian and Carl. Oh yes, Things were just about to get interesting.

AN: I am SOOOO sorry it took me so long to update. This chapter's just been hell for me, though. I promise to get more up as soon as possible! Hopefully by the end of the week, okay? Please review


	28. Chapter Twenty Seven

AN: UGH! I am so sorry, you guys. Things have been a little hectic lately. You know, the whole 'teen drama' junk. Honestly, I don't know where some people get off trying to tell us that just because they're not a teenager anymore means that they have so much more drama than us. Honestly, I think teens make the drama themselves, but its there. And come on, NOBODY has it perfect. So of course teens have problems. Just not the same as adults. I mean, come on. I know first graders who create major drama. FIRST GRADERS! Wow, that was a completely wacky bit of babble, lol. Anyhoo, onto the important stuff. Thanks to all my reviewers! Ebony Night, Aradia-Hornbeam, Fortune Zyne, HughJackmanFan, and Ithilwenn thanks! You guys inspire me so much, so thanks for sticking with!

Ebony Night: Yea, he killed Anna, and he feels really guilty about it afterwards.

Aradia-Hornbeam: Yep, that pretty much sums it up, lol. Wouldn't you like to know who is following Ian and Carl, though? Don't worry you'll find out … soon.

HughJackmanFan: Yea, I noticed. It's the longest I've ever written, actually. And in such a short period of time, too. It's weird. I mean, I wrote something else that was finished by this many pages, and that took less time, but it's still quite interesting. Thanks for noticing, and thanks for the review!

Ithilwenn: Oh, no! No, Carl wasn't trying to get Ian to drink the stuff in the bottle. He was just pulling it out and stuff. You know, Carl's just going through his gizmos and pulls out a vial. It's sort of a pull on the whole scene where Carl has the bomb that is intense like the rays of the sun and stuff. It's really an inside joke between my two brothers and I, so that's why it's in there at all. As for the Anna-VH stuff. I thought I hinted at it a little before. Oh well. These next few chapters there should be a little more. I just want to put a little space between is all. Gabriel had to get over his guilt about killing her before he could fully pick up where they left off, lol. Don't worry

Oh, and just another thing, you might think that just because they're at Dracula's castle the story is coming to an end, but I would like to ensure all of my loyal readers that we've still got a long time on this thing, and chances are it won't even be finished until the end of summer. So bear with me, and be happy in the knowledge that the story will go on!

Through the Veil

CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN

Van Helsing pulled Anna slightly closer as they stepped into the frigid air. "It hasn't changed a bit," Anna said softly.

"No," Van Helsing agreed, stepping towards the castle with a frown. "At least not on the outside." The two began to trudge through the snow, Anna shivering slightly from the intense cold.

"How are we to open the door to Castle Dracula?" Anna inquired finally as they neared the tall building. "You don't have your werewolf strength."

"The castle has been deserted for five years," Van Helsing replied solemnly. He stepped forward and pulled the doors open. "When Carl and I fled here we forgot to ensure the door was closed. Seeing as it is still well open, even a little rusted, it's a safe bet that Dracula hasn't returned here."

"Then he is elsewhere," Anna said.

Van Helsing glanced over at her sudden movement as she came to his side. "What do we do?"

"We explore the castle," Van Helsing replied as he leaned over just a bit to catch the lingering smell of Anna's hair as she moved past him. She stepped inside the building, quickly moving away from him as she glanced around.

"You can't see anything in here," She said, backing away as her face met with spider webs. She quickly knocked them away from her face before continuing inwards. Van Helsing followed her quickly inside, closing the door firmly behind him and wrapping the duo in darkness.

"Can you see?"

"Yes," Van Helsing replied. He quickly grasped Anna's hand and started down the long hall. Anna had to hold back a girlish grin at the hunter holding her hand seeing as VH could see in the dark.

"What are we looking for?" Anna asked.

"Anything out of the ordinary," Van Helsing replied.

Anna nodded and then allowed her eyes to wander, now that they had adjusted to the encompassing shadows. "Do you remember your way around?" She inquired.

"Vaguely," Was the hunter's response. The two walked around for a few minutes, before finally finding a stairway. "There are other stories to search," he said thoughtfully.

"You check the second floor, and I'll go onto the third," Anna said, starting forward.

"That isn't a good idea," Van Helsing said, pulling her back. "Last time I left you alone for ten seconds and Aleera had you captured. We don't know what's up there. Perhaps we should simply search together, hmm?"

Anna was about to object, but decided spending some more time alone with Van Helsing could be enjoyable. Not to mention it was safer. "Fine," She agreed. The two started up the long staircase, still holding hands. Van Helsing allowed his fingers to travel lighting across the cement feel of the old castle. Anna glanced at the hunter out of the corner of her eyes just as they made it to the second floor.

"The count mentioned a need for revenge. Was that solely because you killed him? Or was there something more?" She asked.

Van Helsing stiffened, suddenly turning to look Anna fully up and down. Then he dropped her hand and took a step back. "How do I know you're not a shape shifter?" He finally asked.

Anna blinked, looking truly confused by the comment. "What?" She asked.

"You know what a shape shifter is," Van Helsing said coolly.

"Of course I know what a shape shifter is," Anna snapped angrily. "Have I turned into a monster on you?"

Van Helsing eyed her. "I mean a creature that can alter its appearance to become anything," He growled.

Anna tried to contain her fury. She only managed by convincing herself that Van Helsing was simply trying to be cautious. "Would a shifter know that when we found the Frankenstein monster we had fallen through a poor spot of wood over the old wind mill? And before that we had been drinking absinth?"

"No," Van Helsing reluctantly admitted. He took the princess's hand again and continued down the dark hall. "I'm sorry about your brother."

"He is happy where he is now," Anna replied.

"And I'm sorry about you."

"Van Helsing, we've already discussed this. You did me a favor. And now I'm here … with you."

The two stopped once again, and Van Helsing turned to look down at Anna. He grinned as always, and Anna returned it. In a few moments, Van Helsing was bending down to kiss the princess before him. Their lips were almost touching when screeching sounded through the castle. The two jerked apart and looked hastily around. Van Helsing reaching for his gun, Anna for her sword. They spun around in circles, trying in vain to find the source of the noise.

Something quickly flew past the princess's hair, and then another. Within seconds, the hall was filled with screeching bats. They clawed at Anna's hair and managed to knock Van Helsing's hat off his head. Despite herself, Anna let out a startled cry and stumbled backward, quickly separating herself from the hunter that she could no longer see.

THE TEENS (AND DOMMY)

Dommy frowned. "Scratch that. I choose life," He said, turning around and heading for the doorway they had just come through. Amanda quickly spun around and caught his collar.

"Oh no, you little pain. I'm not letting you out of my sight for two seconds. March forward."

"Why do I have to be in front?" The young boy whined.

"So if anything jumps out from behind a corner it gets you," Justine grumbled. The boy tossed her a quick glare before he stumbled through the snow.

"At least I didn't wear a T-shirt and boxers," He muttered under his breath before sneaking a look at Francis. The older boy shivered again, Stefie's arms wrapped around him to give him some of her body heat.

Darey and Kaelin glanced over at the teen with goofy grins on their faces.

"Okay, anyone else not want to enter the foreboding looking castle?" Justine whimpered.

"Me," Dommy said quickly.

"Hey, Anna and VH are inside," Amanda replied. "We can't just leave them hanging, can we?"

"Is t-there he-he-eat in the c-castle?" Francis asked, his teeth chattering beyond belief. His pale skin covered with goose bumps.

"Probably not," Darey informed him.

"I'm game for leaving," Francis said quickly. Stefie rolled her eyes.

"Well maybe you shouldn't have changed into your pajamas so soon," She replied. "Although I adore those bunny boxers!"

Despite the cold, Francis could feel his cheeks burning warmly. The others snickered.

"Oh!" Kaelin gasped as the lantern blew out. "Shitaki mushrooms."

"There better be some light inside that castle," Dommy warned.

"Hello, deserted evil castle! Why would there be any light?" Justine snapped.

"Because it's convenient," Dommy snapped back. "And if this were a movie there would be lighting!"

"Dommy, we may be in a world based after a movie, but trust me, this is _not_ a movie," Amanda said.

"Yea, I mean, if this were scripted, wouldn't we have better lines?" Darey asked.

"And more clothing?" Francis suggested.

"Aw, hon," Stefie said, giving him a hug. "Hollywood _loves_ guys without their shirts on. Beside, I think boxers and a T-shirt are cute!"

"…"

"Umm, sure," Darey said. "Why not?"

"You'd think that if we were in a movie, the stupid light wouldn't have blown out," Kaelin muttered.

"Thus proving this isn't scripted. It's sheer bad luck," Amanda supplied.

"If you go off on another of your "I'm a bad omen" things," Justine said, pointing a finger at Amanda, "Then I will literally rip your lips from your face."

"Somebody needs to take a nap," Stefie said cheerfully. The group stopped and stared up at the closed door.

"Should we knock?" Justine asked nervously.

"Darey, open the door," Amanda instructed.

"What? Why do I have to open the impossible to open door?" Darey demanded.

"Because you do everything so well," Kaelin said, giving Darey a lop-sided encouraging grin.

"Please, never do that again," Darey replied. Then she sighed. "Alright, I'll do it. But I don't want any comments from the peanut gallery when something creepy sweeps down and rips my guts out, got it?"

"Okay … that's more imagery than I would have liked," Dommy said.

"Something's gonna sweep down?" Justine whispered, grabbing quick to Francis' free arm. This, of course, didn't bother the shivering male at all.

"Be quiet," Darey snapped. She stepped up and cautiously peeled the door open.

"It looks dark in there," Justine muttered.

"Didn't we have this discussion already?" Kaelin demanded. They all filed into the dark abyss, leaving the door open to provide some light for the teens to see by. They stalked around the room. Stefie glanced at Francis.

"Do you still have that match?" She asked.

"Uhh … yeah. It's in my sock," He said.

"Why is it that everyone steals my perfect hiding place?" Dommy grumbled to himself as Francis handed the match over to Stefie.

"Thank you," Stef said, taking the match and then planting a quick kiss on his cheek. Then she quickly got to work on lighting the match. Within seconds fire erupted on the short stick. "Kaelin, get me the torch!"

The taller girl did just that, and the two quickly had the room a little brighter. With that, Darey quickly slammed the door closed so that the cold air couldn't get in.

"Now where are VH and Anna?" Francis asked, leaning into the warmth of the small flame. As if on cue, seconds later Anna's shriek filled the air.

"Oh boy," Justine said.

"Where did it come from?" Stefie asked.

"I say we split up," Dommy suggested. "We'll find them easier. Darey, you come with me."

"I don't think so," Amanda said, quickly grabbing hold of her brother. Suddenly the same screeching that had been upstairs filled the lobby, and the bats began to fly around the room.

Justine cried out fearfully, tripping over her footing and grabbing a hold of Dommy's neck. The small boy grunted before tumbling onto the floor.

"Everybody get down!" Someone called out. There was quick shuffling as everyone besides Kaelin flung themselves onto the cold floor. Kaelin still held the torch in her hand, and had taken to swinging it around the bats, managing to catch a few on fire. (AN: I hate the idea of killing poor helpless bats. Especially when they aren't really doing anything. But for the story's purposes, we'll have a few bats taken out.) The bats took the hint and flew off in another direction before disappearing out of the tall and wide gothic windows.

Amanda slowly pushed herself off of the ground, blowing her hair out of her face. After pursing her lips for a few moments, she said, "splitting up it is then."

Kaelin quickly approached the others and helped some of them up. Once everybody was standing, Darey glanced around.

"She's right. If we split up we can have a better chance of finding Anna and VH," She said.

"Alright, Dommy and Justine will go down that corridor," Amanda said, pointing across from them.

"Gee, leave me with the shrimp," Justine said sarcastically. Kaelin snatched up a torch from the wall and lit it before handing it to Justine.

"Fire stalls anything for a few moments," She explained. "Plus it's good for lighting."

"Thanks," Dommy grinned, reaching for the light.

"No way," Justine said. She took a nervous hold of the boy's hand and then disappearing down the long corridor.

"Francis and Stefie can take the stairs, see if you can find anything on the second floor."

"Aiy, aiy, cap'n," Stefie said quickly, grabbing Francis' hand and darting up the staircase, Kaelin handing them a lit torch along the way.

Amanda looked around the group thoughtfully, and then handed Darey the last torch. "Kaelin and I will take the third floor. You can explore the other corridor," She said, pointing in the opposite direction of where Dommy and Justine had gone.

"Okay," Darey said with a smile. Amanda and Kaelin quickly ran up the stairs, leaving Darey alone. After a few seconds, she frowned.

"Wait a minute … why am I always the one to go by myself?" She demanded to no one. Not receiving an answer, the raven haired girl turned on her heal and marched down the hall, trying her best to ignore the soft sound of footsteps coming from that direction.


	29. Chapter Twenty Eight

AN: Thanks to Aradia-Hornbeam, and Fortune Zyne

Aradia-Hornbeam: Yea, Language barriers suck, huh? Hmm … Dracula lurking in his own castle? Maybe … You'll just have to read and see, ha, ha! Thanks for the review!

Fortune Zyne: yeah, that's how I wanted it to be, hee, hee. Darey is always getting ditched in real life, so I wanted some people to show some sympathy for her

Through the Veil

CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT

JUSTINE AND DOMMY

Justine winced as the door squeaked open. Dommy just whistled happily. "Everything in this castle is so _BIG_!" He exclaimed. Then he looked up at Justine. "You think he's compensating for something?"

"Aren't they always?" Justine grumbled under her breath. Then she groaned. "Oh Dom! Thanks a lot for the disturbing mental picture!"

"Welcome!" Dommy said joyously.

"Small children should not be talking like that," Justine said, shaking her pointer finger at the eleven year old. He just shrugged.

"You should hear some of the stuff Josh says," He said with a grin. "And then the stuff under his bed …"

"I'm never looking at your brother in the same way ever again," Justine told him with a shudder. She peered out from behind the door and glanced into the room, holding the torch up to get a better sight of what was inside. The room had been abandoned for some time.

"No one here," She said, pulling away. Dommy latched a hold of her wrist.

"Get back here," He said. "I think I've seen this place before." He started walking into the room. Justine withheld a groan as she was dragged inside.

"How could you have seen this place before?" She demanded.

"It was in the movie," Dommy replied.

"You didn't watch the movie," Justine reminded him.

"I watched the ending," Dommy said defensively. He studied the room with awe. "I think this was the room VH killed Dracula and Anna in."

"But Anna isn't dead," Justine said.

"Have you been paying any attention at all?" Dommy demanded.

"Right, he killed her, now she's back from the dead somehow. Got it," Justine muttered. Dommy started running about the room. "Hey, hey! Bring that light over here! I think this is the spot where Dracula died. Oh, yea, it is! See, there's a dried puddle of black blood. Eww. Hey, what's that?"

"Don't cause trouble!" Justine warned as she slowly walked around the room, a slight shiver passing through her body.

Dommy leaned over the pass where Dracula and Van Helsing had fought five years ago. "Hey Justine, there's some torches lying around. Light them up, okay?"

Justine turned around and looked up at him. "We're supposed to be looking for Anna and Van Helsing," She reminded him.

"Come on," Dommy whined. "It'll be fun. Hey, I think that's the couch Anna _died_ on!"

"Out of all the rooms," Justine grumbled under her breath before approaching some of the torches hanging on the wall. She lit one, and then another. Even if she didn't like the room, she didn't like it even more without any light. She stopped after the second light, however, and looked up to where Dommy was racing around, pretending to fight an imaginary foe. Fear was written across her face.

"Did you hear that?" She whispered.

Dommy stopped and looked over at her. "Hear what?" He asked.

Before Justine could reply a warm wind brushed through the room, and all lights came alive. This also happened elsewhere in the castle, leaving its occupants to stare in wonder. Justine dropped the torch in her hand, which had miraculously blown out, and darted towards Dommy.

"We have to get out of here now," She said quickly, coming to the boy's side. She looped his arm in hers, and started moving, when Dommy jerked back. He narrowed his eyes and then looked around the room.

"Someone's following us," He said carefully. Justine drew in a nervous breath, remembering what Darey and Amanda had told her of earlier that day. She quickly grabbed the boy's arm again and tried to pry him from the spot. She froze, though, when something penetrated her hearing.

"How very right you are," A female voice said happily as a shadow stepped out from behind some machines. Justine's eyes widened in horror and Dommy studied the figure with confusion.

CARL AND IAN

"Did you see where they went?" Ian asked.

"They mentioned something about splitting up, remember?" Carl whispered, his fingers fiddling with his robes.

"Come on," Ian said, marching up the staircase.

"No, thank you," Carl said quickly. Ian raised an eyebrow at the friar in the dark.

"You'd rather stay here alone?" He inquired.

"Well, I -." Carl froze as a wind brushed through the room, caressing the faces of its occupants, and the torches lit up. Carl shrunk back before quickly waddling up the stairs. "If you insist."

Ian smirked after the holy man before quickly following after him. "The children should not be here," He said darkly. "This is a dangerous place. The beast may have returned."

"Well you don't seem to have anything to fear from that," Carl said haughtily.

"Why don't you beleive me?" Ian snapped.

"I told you before, the children don't trust you. And you're suspicious looking."

Ian turned on the step and looked down at the friar. Taking in a deep breath, he snapped, "What should my appearance have to do with traitorous motives?" He asked.

"Well," Carl began. "Anything that looks evil surely is."

Ian blinked. "What sort of logic is that?" Ian demanded.

"Carl? Ian?" A voice from above them inquired.

"Oh dear lord," Carl gasped, stumbling down the stairs.

"Van Helsing," Ian said, narrowing his eyes darkly. At this the friar sheepishly returned to his spot to meet Van Helsing's tall form.

"What a pleasant surprise," Carl said, trying to look positive.

Van Helsing, however, didn't look amused.

"Where, eh, where's Anna?" Carl squeaked out.

"We were separated," Van Helsing said, his shoulders falling. "A family of bats filled the halls and when I finally got the chance to look around Anna was gone."

"Oh," Carl said. Van Helsing met Ian's suspicious gaze.

"Why are the two of you here?" He snapped. "I thought you were watching the children."

"Well, that's the thing, Van Helsing. The children are here," Carl said, before wincing as he waited for Van Helsing's anger.

"What?" The monster hunter exclaimed.

"They were following you," Ian informed him. "You and my cousin, to be more precise. They split up not too long ago."

Van Helsing looked at him curiously. "And yet you are not with them?"

"We were behind them by sometime. We only managed to overhear a plan to split up before we came inside," Ian retorted. "By then they had already gone."

"He's telling the truth," Carl said.

"For once," Van Helsing grumbled.

"You as well?" Ian demanded. "Surely _someone_ must trust me here!"

"Listen to me. Anna may trust you, but she hasn't seen as much of you as we have. There's something off about you. You're keeping something a secret."

"For good reason!" Ian squealed.

"I intend to find out what it is. If you plan to harm anyone – especially Anna -."

"She's my cousin! I would never wish harm to my cousin. Or anyone else for that matter. How dare you try and accuse me of doing so," Ian growled.

The hunter and the young man leaned in, noses almost touching and faces filled with disgruntlement. "Why is it that you are always missing when something attacks? Because you are behind it?" Van Helsing asked.

"You are impossible," Ian snorted. "Fine. I shall leave you to your _search_. I bid you adieu." He quickly disappeared down the stairs before either Carl or Van Helsing got the chance to say anything. Van Helsing frowned before looking to Carl.

"We need to find the others," He said sharply.

DAREY

The torches had lit up moments before and now the whole hallway was bright. Darey wasn't bothered by this at all, of course. In fact, she felt relaxed and allowed her feet to strut down the red carpeted hallway with a smug expression on her face. She wasn't even really thinking about Anna or Van Helsing. Or the others, for that matter. At that time, her thoughts were buried away with the beach. The last time she had been to the beach was when she was twelve. As much as she didn't like bathing suits, she loved the beach. In fact, some of the others had mentioned heading to the beach this summer. Perhaps seeing one of the psychics whose stall was situated on the boardwalk. Justine was talking about a fun-filled day at the beach once school had let out. They still had five months to go before school ended; three until the beach was opened to tourists again. Still, at this moment Darey just wanted to be at the beach. She could almost see it before her, the sandy shore, the glaring sun, the beach hippies darting around in the sand. Ah, the beach.

Darey was so wrapped up in her hopeful thoughts, she didn't notice someone stumbling out of one of the doors until they had almost crashed into her. She gasped, stumbling out of the way before looking up and meeting Anna's face. She let out a sigh of relief. "Thank god," She breathed.

"What are you doing here?" Anna demanded.

"Oops," Darey said. "It was Dommy's idea!"

"Who?" Anna asked in confusion.

"The twerp. You know, the one who knows a lot more than he should? The brunette? Amanda's brother?" At Anna's puzzled look, Darey sighed. "The little boy that was fighting Dracula?"

"Oh, yes," Anna said, nodding her head with realization. "The daring one."

"You mean the one who just doesn't think," Darey replied, her hands on her hips.

"You still haven't explained why you're here," Anna said.

"We were eavesdropping outside the door and heard you and Van Helsing mention going to Castle Dracula," Darey said, sounding guilty. "So we decided to follow you guys here. Speaking of VH, where is he?"

"A group of bats attacked us," Anna said. "We were separated. I think I fell through a trapped door."

"Really? Cool!" Darey exclaimed. At the disapproving look, she quickly replied, "I mean that's bad. Oh hey! You guys were attacked by the bats too?"

"Did they get you?" Anna asked, looking Darey over quickly as if trying to find bite marks or something. Darey rolled her eyes.

"Kaelin scared them off with the lantern thing," She replied.

"So you were the ones who turned the lights on?" Anna asked.

"Eh … no," Darey said, glancing nervously down the well-lit corridor. "No, that was just something … weird."

"Where are the others?"

"Well, it's a funny story, really. W decided to separate. We're doomed, aren't we?"

Anna shook her head, trying to find some tolerance for the teenager. "I suppose we should find the others, then."

"Fine by me," Darey said, quickly turning in the other direction and starting quickly away.

An: So that's chapter 28. Short, I know, but it's here! Was it just me, or was everyone a little out of character?


	30. Chapter Twenty Nine

AN: I though this chapter needed some major Stefie and Francis stuff, because there really isn't much. Thanks to Ithilwenn, Aradia-Hornbeam, and Fortune Zyne

Ithilwenn: That was quite a long review, lol. Well I know you're pushing for romance, and it may not be Anna and VH, but I hope this will do, lol. As for Ian … you'll find out very soon if he's evil or not, actually. Thanks for the review

Aradia-Hornbeam: Ah, Dommy says he loves having so many people like him, lol. He started dancing around the room, if you can imagine. Guess he's been watching me just a _bit_ too much, lol. Good luck with the job thing. Thanks for the review

Through the Veil

CHAPTER TWENTY NINE

STEFIE AND FRANCIS

Stefie gave Francis' hand a gentle squeeze as they stumbled around the fourth floor. They had planned to go to the second floor as suggested, but when they'd actually gotten there they'd heard strange noises and chose to run up to the fourth floor instead. Neither could help the eerie feeling the castle was giving them. Both were easily spooked and with the old castle making so many noises it was only logical that their fright would escalade. So here they were hiding out on the final floor. At least they had each other.

Francis pulled his hand away from Stefie to quickly rub at his arms which were becoming cold again. "I don't get it," He finally said.

"What don't you get?" Stefie inquired, tilting her head to look up at him.

Francis frowned, looking across the hall. "I don't get what we're doing here," He grumbled. "I'm sick of worrying that something's going to get us."

"Francis, we've only been here three days," Stefie replied.

"And I'm sick of _here_. Aren't you? We're supposed to be at home doing whatever. Not locked in some strange castle looking for the next 'clue'."

Stefie hit him lightly on the arm. "Oh, don't you start complaining Francis Beaton. You're always grumbling about something. Try looking on the bright side for once! We're somewhere no other human from our world – or time – has been. Sure, the return of a nemesis and the idea that some of Satan's brides – or whatever they are – are after us -."

"Only you could make something so horrible sound like a walk in the park," Francis said.

Stefie put her hands on her hips. "Don't you want to help?"

"Well … yea. But Stef, I don't want to die in the process. I don't want you to die in the process, either. Or anyone else for that matter. Things were safer when we were back home. We certainly weren't trudging through _this_." Francis waved his arm around the threatening halls.

Stefie frowned. "What are you talking about? We have castles where we came from, too," She said.

Francis let out a frustrated sigh. "Not one's that belonged to dead guys!"

"Well of course they did, silly. Castles don't belong to no one, and no one can live for_ever_!" Stefie let out a little chuckle, but stopped when she saw Francis' serious face. Then she sighed before wrapping her arms around him in a hug. "We'll get home just fine. We just need to help these guys first. Nobody's gonna get hurt, I promise."

"You can't promise anything, Stef," Francis said dejectedly.

"Well sure I can! I just might not be able to keep it," The short girl replied. Francis laughed into her hair before pulling away.

"Alright, alright. No more complaining. We work for the Van Helsing crew through thick or thin. Through the town or … creepy castles that belonged to dead guys."

"Do I hear a hint of complaint?"

Francis broke into a wide smile. "No," He said, shaking his head. "It's just fact."

"Well good. Because if that was a complaint I would have had to kick your ass," She said. Then she turned over to the doorknob closest to her and opened the door, peeking in. "The lights are on in here, too."

"Maybe somebody flicked a switch or something. I wouldn't be surprised, anything could happen."

"Maybe," Stefie replied, gripping tight to her friend's hand and then dragging him into the room. She quickly moved to the table near her. She started sifting through the miscellaneous papers, perturbed to find nothing of use.

"You know what gets me?" Francis asked, settling into the large chair by the blazing fire place.

"What?" Stefie inquired.

"The dude lived in a castle, but everyone slept in one room. What's the point of even having a castle if you're not going to stick to tradition?"

"Well there was that whole vampire ball scene. Maybe Dracula would host parties and stuff and he would need room for his guests to stay. It would explain why there's no windows in any of the rooms we've seen," Stefie explained.

"That makes sense," Francis said. He watched Stefie shuffle around for a minute. "Why don't you come sit down?"

"On your lap?" Stefie asked with humor.

"You see anywhere else to sit? Besides, I'm cold."

"There's a fire going."

"Yea, but I keep thinking something's going to jump out at me from the fire. Like an evil … fire troll, or something."

"Francis, I may be clueless but I do know that sitting on a guy's lap because he says he's cold is a no-no," Stefie said, turning to look at him with a grin.

"You never had a problem with it before," Francis said, grinning in return. "Besides, I think I can handle your weight."

"I'm _not_ fat, if that's what you're implying," Stefie said, tossing her ponytail over her shoulder. "Just curvy. The curves make me _seem_ fat."

"Okay, this conversation is getting weird," Francis said, turning his gaze to the fire.

Stefie stifled a laugh before she flopped down on top of Francis. "Are you uncomfortable talking about -?"

"No," Francis said sharply. In the light from the flames Stefie could make out his bright red cheeks.

"I find this room very romantic," Stefie said, leaning against Francis' chest.

"Since when do you care about romance?" Francis inquired.

"I don't," Stefie said quickly. "It's just … cute. It needs bunnies, though. A nice pet bunny, and you'd never know vampires lived here at one point in time."

"Yes, let's put that in the ad to the realtor. Cozy castle hidden away in mountains, romantic rooms, no windows, one time residence for vampires, and a pet rabbit. The place would sell instantly!"

"You and that sarcasm," Stefie said. "Oh well, we can do without a bunny. I mean, I don't necessarily need a bunny anyways. I've got your boxers!"

"Stef, you do realize how … disturbing that sounded, don't you?" Francis asked.

"Why is that disturbing? Look at them! They have bunnies on them and stuff. That's not disturbing, it's cute!"

"Clueless is right," Francis muttered under his breath before looking back at Stefie with a smile. "We shouldn't be sitting around like this, you know."

"I don't want to get up just yet. We'll go see the others later. If they yell at us, we can just tell them we had only been sitting for a few minutes. How's that sound?"

"Perfect," Francis whispered. He studied the back of Stefie's head for a minute, before tugging at the ponytail.

"What are you doing?" She demanded.

"You should wear your hair down more," He explained. "It really isn't as bad as you think it is." He gave the piece one final tug before her curls bounced out around her face.

"It's frizzy," Stefie protested. "The best place for it to be is in a ponytail." She turned to try and snatch the rubber band back.

"Yea, but the maid curled your hair earlier, and it looks nice that way. If you wear it down, everyone can see how nice it looks," Francis explained.

"I don't _want_ everyone to see how nice it looks," Stefie complained, swiveling around to try and get a good grasp.

"I want to see how nice it looks," Francis told her.

"Francis!" Stefie whined, turning all the way around, but managing to tangle herself in the chair, so that her face almost fell right on top of Francis'. The two caught their breath in surprise. Stefie met Francis' wide eyes, and bent down to close the space, when …

"Well isn't this nice," A thickly accented voice said. Francis jumped up, dropping Stefie to the floor as he stared at the door where three Sreain stood. He recognized one as the woman who had taken Dommy hostage in the cemetery. (AN: to our readers we know her as Alys.) Next to her was a curly blond with shocking blue eyes, her bright red lips such a contrast to her pale complexion. She was decked in a blue skirt and a matching top (Sound familiar?). The last one had bright orange pants with a yellow top, slightly tanned skin, golden eyes and short strawberry blond hair.

"Gee, thanks," Stefie muttered as she stood from the floor and followed Francis' gaze. She frowned, crossing her arms over her chest. "Way to ruin the moment. No wonder people think you're evil."

"So sorry," Someone whispered with a Transylvanian accent into her ear. Stefie spun around to see the woman in yellow and orange standing behind her. "Hello darling," She drawled.

Stefie's eyes widened, and she gripped Francis' arm. "How'd she do that?"

"Do what?" Alys asked, appearing beside Francis. He jumped with surprise, and then pulled Stefie to him.

The third appeared in front of them and hissed. "It's disgusting, this couple."

"Caution, Delia," Alys commanded. "Queen Deidre commanded the strangers be apprehended without harm."

"Speaks you," The third growled. "You're the one who let the others go. You had the boy, and yet you baited."

Alys hissed at the other. "Don't question your general's actions," She growled.

"What do you want with us?" Francis asked, moving forward to meet Delia's eyes.

"We -."

"Don't," Alys snapped. "Queen Deidre can tell them."

"Yes," Delia cackled with a giggle. "Yes, let's have the Queen handle them."

The other woman, Belinda, we'll call her, pouted. "The humans have caused too much interference. I say we just drink from them."

"And face Queen Deidre's wrath?" Alys countered. "No, I am happy alive."

"On three," Francis whispered.

"For crying out loud, Francis, just say Three!" Stefie hissed. The two separated, Francis dodging around Alys and Stefie kicked Belinda behind the knee before moving around her.

"Get them!" Alys snapped.

Francis and Stefie joined back to back a few feet away, their arms up in a defensive position. "You think we have any sort of chance against these things?" Francis asked.

Belinda pulled two sais from her belt and began twirling them between her fingers as she advanced. Delia smirked.

"I changed my mind. I like these two. They're minds are so interesting. They're tales almost as intriguing as that of Van Helsing's."

"Stop fooling about," Alys commanded angrily. Then she turned to the woman in pants. "Don't spill blood, Belinda."

"I intend to have fun," The woman snapped. "Deidre holds us back too much."

"Great, we get the _blood crazed_ one," Stefie murmured.

"We've faced worst," Francis said with a grin.

"We have?"

"Tom Burger at the anime convention?"

"We have!"

Delia appeared next to Francis, and wrapper her arms around him from behind. "I do enjoy this one, Alys. When Queen Deidre's finished with him, I want to have fun. He'd make an excellent pet. Plus he's quite striking."

"Enough tomfoolery!" Alys growled.

"What she said," Stefie said.

Francis quickly slammed his foot down hard on Delia's, and then jerked away when her grip loosened.

"How dare you!" Delia screamed.

"My turn," Belinda said. With a quick motion she had one sais back at her hip. Her free hand captured Francis' neck, the other sais pointed at his throat.

"Don't!" Alys cried, appearing beside Belinda and catching her arm.

"Curse!" Belinda hissed. "Don't ask of me to turn on you."

"We have orders," Alys growled.

"The orders aren't important," Belinda snapped.

"Yea, hi, can I borrow this?" Stefie asked, pulling the sais off of Belinda's hip and then plunging it into the woman's heart.

Belinda shrieked, stumbling backwards and allowing Francis to fall to the ground.

"No!" Delia cried.

"Sister!" Alys exclaimed.

Belinda's body convulsed about for a moment before she was wrapped in a bright purple light and then vanished.

Delia fell onto Alys, weeping. Alys pushed her off and then spun around to the teens, eyes ablaze. Stefie was kneeling next to Francis, checking his throat for any puncture holes. She jerked up, though, when she felt Alys' eyes on her.

"Uhh … Why do you look so upset? She was going to betray your orders," She said.

Alys let out a wild cry before grabbing Stefie's arm and pulling her face to hers.

"We are connected!" She hissed.

"Like Dracula's brides," Francis choked out.

"They come!" Delia cried, clinging to Alys' arm. "They're coming. We cannot take the others. We must abandon the dealings for now."

"No."

"Let go of them!" Delia snapped, knocking Stefie away from Alys' grip. The general turned to hiss at the other, while Delia hissed back.

"Queen Deidre will be furious," Alys snapped.

"She gives second chances," Delia hissed. "Come! They are closer now."

Alys let out a disgruntled growl before disappearing, Delia right behind her.

"That was … weird," Francis said slowly as he stood.

Stefie stared down at the weapon in her hand, and then gave it a disgusted toss. "Ugh."

"The blood's … yellow?"

"Suits her suit," Stefie said, cheerful once again.

"I think it's a good idea to find Van Helsing now," Francis said softly.

"I'm game. Come on." The two quickly moved out of the room. They froze in place, however, when they heard a shriek pass through the castle.

KAELIN AND AMANDA

Amanda let out a disgruntled groan as she once again threw her body against the door.

"Give it up," Kaelin called from where she sat on the floor. "It's no use and you know it. That door's locked."

After giving another slam, Amanda snapped, "Who sets up a door to lock when someone enters it?"

"Someone who doesn't want any of their prey to escape?" Kaelin suggested.

One final slam, and then Amanda slid down the door, holding her head in her hands. "I told you we shouldn't have gone into this room," She grumbled.

"Did you really think that just looking in the room and then calling out, 'Van Helsing? Anna? You in there?' would actually work? What if something got to them? How do you expect them to answer?"

"Are they in here?"

"No."

"Then going into this room was pointless."

"But we didn't _know_ they weren't in here," Kaelin countered.

"Oh, I give _up_!" Amanda exclaimed. "You hear me? I'm too tired to put up with this. I give up!"

"No one can hear you," Kaelin said. "Besides, if you can't get out then no one can get in."

Amanda narrowed her eyes at Kaelin angrily. "We're supposed to be going on vacation, Kaelin. We still had a day left of school. I was supposed to have my birthday party! Sure, it's been a recent fantasy of mine for something like this to happen, but I really don't want it."

Kaelin shrugged. "I don't know. I think it's sort of cool. And nothing big has happened yet, anyways."

"You weren't outside today, Kaelin. We were so close to getting killed. Dommy wouldn't quit. If Anna hadn't shown up, we would have been goners. We don't know what we're doing! We're just kids. We can't handle this," Amanda said. "I'm just … I'm tired of it. I want to go home. I miss my family. I miss my Mom, my Dad, the twins … I'm even beginning to miss the dogs!"

"And you hate dogs," Kaelin commented.

"I'm thinking if I ever get home, I'll personally treat those dogs to a day out. And then I'll have a happy family day. I don't care, just as long as I get home."

Kaelin squirmed on the floor. "Alright then, if you could have gone into any other movie, what would you have gone into?"

Amanda narrowed her eyes at her friend. "What movie would _you_ have gone into?"

"Full House," Kaelin said with a smirk.

Amanda simply frowned. "Full House was a television show, Kaelin."

"Oh. I knew that."

"So what movie?"

"I don't know. Umm … The Fog."

"Are you serious?"

"Sure, why not? It's one of the best movies, and come on, they only needed to kill six people. I'd be perfectly fine! Now what movie would you go into."

Amanda grinned. "Peter Pan."

"I should have known. We're not talking cartoon version, are we?"

"Nope."

"Didn't think so. But you'd still have to face Captain Hook," Kaelin pointed out.

"Yea, but he was such a pansy. You could totally blow the dude away with the snap of your fingers."

"I seem to recall you saying Dracula was a pansy."

"… I don't want to talk about that."

"Just as I thought."

"Oh, what do you know? You can't even tell the difference between a TV show and movie."

"Ooh, bring it on," Kaelin said, standing and taking a false fighting stance, a goofy grin on her face.

"Now see, _this_ is the Kaelin I was best friends with," Amanda said.

The other girl frowned, her figure stiffening. "I think I'm going to go look around," She said, grabbing up the long forgotten torch and re-lighting it before she moved away.

"Oh, come on," Amanda grumbled, beginning to rise.

"You stay here in case someone comes onto the floor. They could probably get the door open from the outside," Kaelin said coldly before she disappeared.

Amanda slumped back against the door, knowing fully well there was no use arguing with Kaelin when she was in a mood. Amanda was beginning to realize it was crucial not to point things like this out to Kaelin, or else she'll just lock up. She still wanted her friend with her, and if she could just keep her big mouth shut then maybe Kaelin wouldn't constantly slip into 'Moody Kaelin'. Maybe she needed to stop pushing Kaelin. The girl needed to deal with everything in her own way, and Amanda just couldn't keep pushing it. And that wasn't just it. There was something else bothering Kaelin, Amanda was certain. She was just too afraid to ask what it was, lest Kaelin storm off again. Still … she knew her friend, and she knew when things were bothering her. Something was on Kaelin's mind, and it was something different.

Amanda shifted and turned over, pressing her ear to the door, vaguely aware of a door creaking open behind her. Kaelin had probably found a closet or something. The older teen sighed and fell back against the door again, letting out an agitated sigh as she tried to relax.

It wasn't long until Kaelin's blood-curdling scream filled the castle.


	31. Chapter Thirty

AN: Once again, thanks to all my reviewers! You keep me going. Thanks to Aradia-Hornbeam and Fortune Zyne

Aradia-Hornbeam: Yes, Dracula was a total pansy! I mean, come on, the dude sent his _brides_ to do his things for him. He only had one real fighting see throughout the whole thing. He was most definitely a pansy, lol. Thanks for the unusual push, lol. Guess I just needed someone to tell me to move my ass on the next chapter.

Fortune Zyne: 'Oh Dear' is right, lol.

Through the Veil

CHAPTER THIRTY

JUSTINE, DOMMY, AND THE MYSTERIOUS FIGURE

Justine's eyes lit up in terror and she drew in a sharp breath. "You're one of them, aren't you?" She asked fearfully.

The woman simply smirked while Dommy nudged Justine in the ribs. "Dude, she's the lady who saved us from Drac earlier!"

"Kael Vahn," The woman said with a light bow of her head. "At your service. I see you are well."

Dommy shrugged. "Can't complain."

"How do you know she isn't one of the bad guys?" Justine snapped.

"I don't know. She just doesn't … seem bad," Dommy said, meeting Kael's eyes, which were now sparkling a mysterious blue. She smiled at him.

"I'm glad to know you trust me," She said.

"Okay, so you're Kael Vahn, you chased away Dracula … Oh, and Dommy doesn't think you're evil – which isn't saying much if you actually know the kid. What's your part in all of this?" Justine asked.

Kael's face turned up with interest before she laughed. "Out of all the others I didn't figure _you_ to be straightforward!" She exclaimed.

Justine turned pink with slight embarrassment before she stepped up. "Look, I just want to know if you're here to kill us or not. Because if you're not on our side could you just give us a few minutes to run away?"

"I'm not going to hurt you," Kael said. "I want to help you."

Justine narrowed her eyes. "Why would a mysterious lady like you want to help us? You _snuck up on us_. And Dommy says you were following us." She crossed her arms over her chest with a smug expression, which quickly turned to confusion as she turned to look back at Dommy. "Uhh … _how_ exactly did you know she was following us?"

"Beats me," The boy replied with a snort.

"Right," Justine said slowly.

Kael walked down to meet them.

"So why would you want to help us? What do you get out of the deal?" Justine asked.

"Revenge," Kael replied. "The Sreain's Queen was responsible for the death of my mother."

"You know about the Sreain?" Dommy asked; his face lighting up. "How much do you know?"

"The basics," Kael replied. "They first appeared in the late sixteenth century. Starting with Deidre LeFortau (lay fort-waa) – their queen. Most have the simple ability of super speed, which gives them the appearance that they just appear beside you. Legend has it they originated with a witches curse and a vampire's bite. Some have even mutated to have the ability to read minds. There isn't much about them in texts. At least not at the manor."

"How would you know if there was anything about them in the manor?" Justine demanded suspiciously.

Kael opened her mouth to reply, but before she could, a scream pitched its way to the room the group stood.

"That sounded like Kaelin," Justine said, looking at Dommy. The fair-haired boy's eyes were open with fear as they shot to meet Justine's.

"We've got to do something," He said.

"It came from the third floor," Kael said.

"Come on," Justine exclaimed, grabbing Dommy's hand as the two fled the room, Kael quickly following behind them.

VAN HESLING AND CARL

The two started down the hall moments after Ian had disappeared. They were silent at first, until Carl turned to Van Helsing.

"Do you think it was wise to chase Ian off like that?" He asked.

"Perhaps not," Van Helsing replied. "He isn't an evil being, I know this much. But that doesn't mean he doesn't work _with_ evil beings." He sighed. "Perhaps Anna was right? Maybe Ian is just working for the same side we are."

"Quite a bit to dwell on if you ask me," Carl commented.

"He is keeping a secret, though. Maybe we should give him a chance," Van Helsing thought out loud.

"Van Helsing, all the facts point to Ian being our enemy."

"Perhaps," VH murmured. Carl frowned. It was obvious his mind was elsewhere, and Carl considered dropping the topic all together so that Van Helsing could ponder in peace. However, the monster hunter spoke up rather quickly, surprising the poor little friar.

"Don't you think it odd that Anna appeared at the same time as Dracula?" He asked.

Carl jumped in fright at the sudden words, and then considered them. "I suppose. Perhaps it's a gift from the lord above? To help you on your mission?"

"She's Anna, Carl. She hasn't changed at all."

"But you have," Carl finished for him.

"I did," VH agreed.

"Van Helsing, Everything will work out. You just need to overcome your problems."

"I suspect you aren't the best person to turn to with troubles," Van Helsing said with a frown.

"Maybe not," Carl agreed. "For now let's focus on finding the children."

"You're right. We must find the children," Van Helsing agreed. As they began their trek back down the hall a loud shriek reached their ears. No words were said as VH began to run down the hall to the sound. Carl stumbling behind him, murmuring an, "Oh dear," As he did so.

DAREY AND ANNA

Darey's head shot up along with Anna's at the sound of the scream.

"Please let it just be a spider," Darey murmured. The two started to quickly rush down the hallway when they both ran into something before them.

Darey stumbled back in surprise while Anna just blinked. Before them were two members of the Sreain. Both had their hands on their hips. One was dressed in a bright crimson flowing gown while the other had on a nice white outfit which gave of an ethereal appearance. The one in white had bright red hair falling freely around her, bearing a vague resemblance to Aleera, while the one in crimson had perfectly strait blond hair tied back in an unusual bun.

"What are you doing here?" The first asked.

"Haven't you caused enough trouble as it is?" The second inquired.

"Haven't you?" Anna countered, stepping back and drawing her sword. "I hear you girls have had quite a party on my village while I was gone."

"Princess Anna," The first hissed in a soft voice. "Queen Deidre said she was gone."

"Fool. The healer returned her. No matter. We shall have the honors of once again sending you to your grave."

"I don't think so," Darey said stepping up. Then she frowned, glancing down. Her eyes shot with panic to Anna. "Please tell me you have _something_ I can fight with."

Anna tossed her a gun, causing Darey to grin. "Alright, firearms! Here comes the fun. Finally, something I can actually manage."

"Stop the dialogue and actually use it!" Anna called to her.

"No problem," Darey said. She bent back the trigger and prepared to aim when a new hand whipped up and gripped on to Darey's wrist.

"Hey!" She exclaimed.

"You didn't think we'd come without back up, did you?" The one who resembled Aleera said with a grin.

"Where's Belinda?" She asked.

"The others got her," Alys snapped. "And for that we shall get theirs."

"Finally, a challenge," The one in crimson grinned.

"Leave the girl," Alys snapped.

"Hey!" Darey cried again as the one who had her arm, Delia, spun her around and pushed her through a door, before quickly locking it closed. "Anna!" She cried out.

"Go to where the scream was!" She heard Anna call haughtily from the other side. "I'll catch up!"

Darey hesitated a moment, and then, realizing she wasn't going to be able to help Anna any, she turn and darted up the staircase, desperate to help her friend.

KAELIN

Kaelin shook her head in frustration. Why _couldn't Amanda just let things be the way they were? Why did she always have to … push me?_ She stumbled around the room, disappearing behind a large pile of books in an attempt to hide away from Amanda. The room was so dark, only a dim light lit over in the front. It was rather frustrating, trying to find her way around the room. She moved over to the edge of the room to look among the dressers and such. It seemed as if the room she and Amanda had stumbled upon was an old storage room, filled with so much junk. Kaelin wiped her hand over one of the drawers and felt at the thick mass of dust covering her finger tips.

"Yuck," She mumbled, quickly wiping it off on her breeches. "Doesn't anyone ever clean around here?" She continued along, her fingers brushing over the walls in an attempt to keep on track, and not get lost in the overly large and overly cluttered room. She froze in surprise when her fingers passed over an indent in the wall. She moved closer, lifting her right hand to move the torch. She frowned in confusion at the large door that was before her. She leaned in for closer inspection. It was made of deep mahogany, and glimmered with a golden trim.

"Cool," She murmured with a grin. She bent down, searching for the doorknob. When her fingers finally grasped it, she turned back, tempted to call out to Amanda and show her the interesting discovery. Then she stopped. _Why don't I just keep this to myself for the moment? Maybe it's the door out_. She turned the knob, and frowned in disappointment when the door didn't move. She had to give out a small grunt as she gave the door a good, hard shove. She stumbled into the room with surprise, managing to catch her balance before toppling over. She stared at the floor, which was excessively filthy.

"Welcome," A voice said. Kaelin's eyes shot up to see Dracula sitting in a chair not two feet in front of her. She opened her mouth and let out a loud shriek as the door slammed shut on it's own behind her.

AMANDA

She stood up quickly, darting around the stuff and following the trail of footprints Kaelin had left in the muck of the floor. "Kaelin!" She called with fear. Chances were it was nothing. Something had probably jumped out at her – maybe a bat. Still, Amanda felt fear gripping at her. After all, they were in a rather frightening castle that had once belonged to a very devious vampire. "Kaelin?" She called again. There was no reply at all, not even the sound of her footsteps racing back to meet Amanda. No grumpy call that she was okay. There was nothing at all, and that in itself scared Amanda more than the shriek that had summoned her suspicions to begin with. She stopped where the footsteps ceased. She glanced up and caught sight of the same mahogany door Kaelin had gone through not too long ago. She moved closer, hesitantly pressing her ear against the door. There was silence.

What if the room was set up? Kaelin could have gotten caught in some trickery. Amanda gave a soft wrap at the door. "Kaelin?" She whispered. At first there was no response, which made Amanda's heart pound faster as the blood rushed in her ears. Then there was a, "Let go of me!"

Amanda let out the breath she hadn't known she'd been holding, and pounded furiously on the door. "Kaelin? Who's in there? Kaelin, answer me!"

Kaelin shrieked again, and there were the sounds of things falling, before everything fell silent except for the pounding of Amanda's fists on the door. Seconds later something grabbed on to her collar and jerked her back, sending her flying across the room. She was fortunate to land on an old bed. Unfortunate to have a free spring scrape against her arm. She groaned before jumping up, ignoring the dizzy feeling in her head and stomach. She rushed to the front of the room where Dracula stood, an unconscious Kaelin in his arms. Amanda frowned at the small cut on her best friend's forehead, but other than that there didn't seem to be any damage.

"Let her go," She called, her voice shaking with fear. She couldn't move her feet any further. All she could do was stand stock still with fear as she watched Dracula move towards the window, her friend still in his arms.

"What good is she to you?" He asked her, meeting Amanda's confused gaze. She wanted to reply, she truly did, but she was frozen. No comments could even begin to form in her head. Dracula allowed a sly grin, his vampiric teeth cutting through his lips.

"No answer? You know, I can tell the character of a man -."

"Skip the speech," Amanda found herself saying. She obviously wasn't thinking, but her mouth had no trouble speaking. "I've heard it before and it just gets more annoying every time I hear it."

"Really? Then tell me, what does your heart tell me?"

"Just let Kaelin go," Amanda pleaded.

"I have plans for your dear friend here," Dracula said. He moved closer to the window, his eyes never leaving Amanda's. "She'd make a very lovely bride, wouldn't she?"

"You disgusting pig!" Amanda hissed, her feet managing to take several angry steps before her fear returned and she stopped.

"Such fire. It must be common in the world you come from," Dracula said.

"You bet your ass it is," Amanda snapped. "We also don't have a problem teaching people like you a lesson or two. Let go of my friend or else I'll have to show you exactly what I'm talking about."

"As entertaining as that sounds I have somewhere to be, and your lovely young friend shall accompany me. Until next time, my dear."

"No!" Amanda cried as Dracula jumped out of the window, transforming in mid air and then flying off with Kaelin. Amanda rushed to the window as Dracula landed several feet away beside two figures. Then they all vanished into then air.

Several seconds later the door to the old room was thrown open and breathlessly Van Helsing ran in, followed by Carl, Dommy, Justine and Kael. Two seconds too late.

AN: Sorry guys, I had an author's blocky thing. This chapter would have been longer but my mom was really pushing to get me off the computer. Anyhoo, thanks to Sarah for nagging me, lol. I'll try to get another update out later this week, kk?


	32. Chapter Thirty One

AN: Wow … I promised this story would probably be done by the end of summer, and here it is October with the latest update … Hope you guys are still interested in this! I'm gonna try and balance this story with something else I'm working on, which is hard since I'm close to finishing that. Once I've finished that up, I'm gonna try and make this my one commitment, I promise! PLEASE REVIEW, so I know if I should bother to continue. Anyhoo …

Thanks SOOO much, Sarah. As soon as you mentioned how I should be updating, I decided to. I put it off for long enough, right? Lol.

Aradia-Hornbeam: Gargle. The heart-beat speech is so overdone, though. Everyone seems to use it. Hee hee, now that I've put out a new chappie, you have to get to work on a new one for yours … even if you did update before me, lol. Thanks for the review

Fortune Zyne: Eh … is turning my characters into vampires a bad thing? You sounded sort of sarcastic. Thanks for the review, even if you were sarcastic, lol.

Through the Veil

CHAPTER THIRTY ONE

Anger and resolution contorted Amanda's face. She spun back on her heels and quickly snatched up a sword from the rubble; dashing back to the open window and crouching as if she were seconds from leaping away.

"What are you doing?" Van Helsing demanded, quickly pulling her down.

"Let go of me!" She shrieked, dropping the sword from her trembling hands as she struggled.

"Hold still. Just – hold still," Van Helsing hissed as Dommy and Justine quickly crowded to her side.

"Let me be!" Amanda cried, managing to pull away. She bent down, snatched up the sword and pushed the new arrivals out of her way as she marched towards the door.

"Where do you think you're going?" Dommy demanded, following quickly behind his sister.

"After her, what do you think?" Amanda snapped. She turned to look him in the eye. "I'm not messing up again."

"You can't just go after her," Van helsing said quickly, marching over to stand beside Dommy. Kael and Carl stood off to the side, Kael watching with amusement, Carl uncertain. Justine couldn't help but glance from the argument that was sure to arise between Van Helsing and Amanda, then to the window where Kaelin's form had vanished.

"And who are you to stop me?" Amanda hissed, her eyes narrowed.

"You're not thinking rationally," Van Helsing reasoned, taking a hesitant step forward. Amanda skipped back.

"She's my best friend!" Amanda cried, spinning away and slipping. She would have fallen had Van Helsing not caught her. He helped her up again, and then looked into her face.

"You won't do her any good if you're dead. How do you expect to get down there?"

The rational part of the panicked girl's mind had seemed to dissolve away. She tried to get it to work again, her mind racing in an attempt to figure out how she _would_ get down there. "I'll run." Was all she could see.

"They're gone," Justine said, her voice choking slightly. "You'd never catch them."

"Are you saying I'm incapable?" Amanda hissed, her dark gaze turning to Justine. She swallowed.

"Of course not," Van Helsing said. "You must get a hold of yourself. You're no help to her if you're willing to run into what could just be a trap."

"Leave me!"

"What is going on?" Anna asked as she arrived in the room, quickly glancing around, though her eyes fell onto Amanda.

"Drac has captured Kaelin and your lover-boy won't let me go get her," Amanda snapped.

"They're long gone by now," Van Helsing said. "She won't get it through her thick head."

"She's my best friend!" Amanda exclaimed.

Surprisingly, Anna fell to her knees in front of the teenager, searching her face. "I know it's hard," She said slowly. "But if you were to just race after her without a second thought you'd not only be putting yourself in danger, but everyone else here. Do you want to do that?"

"No," Amanda said softly. She quickly turned away to hide her tears, anger vanishing. She looked at her hands, and quickly tossed the sword away, looking back. "I'm sorry."

"And in comes the female hormones," Dommy said, shaking his head.

"We don't know where Dracula is," Van Helsing said slowly, drifting to the window. Anna followed, leaving the others to talk amongst them. Kael drifted away from the group, edging closer to Van Helsing and Anna without their knowledge.

"This is serious," Anna said. "Whatever they're looking for – what if she has it?"

"I'm beginning to think they're just as curious about this whole thing as we are," Van Helsing replied.

"It must be hard – for these kids. Their homes gone. All they have is each other, and now one of them is gone. The girl at the door was taking it horribly," Anna acknowledged.

"The two were close," Van Helsing replied. He turned to meet Anna's eye, taking her hands in his. "We'll need a plan to get her back."

"They can't come along," Anna said quickly. "It would be too dangerous."

"Of course, I was thinking just that. It will be hard, though."

"We can't lose more of them than have already gone. Do you have any thoughts to their reasoning?" Anna inquired.

"None."

---

"We'll need a plan," Amanda interrupted.

"I do believe Van Helsing plans for you not to become involved," Carl informed.

"Then he's sourly mistaken," Amanda said, crossing her arms over her chest. "I may not go after her right now because its pointless, but I'm not going to leave her there. So … we need a plan of action."

"Let Van Helsing and Anna handle it," Justine replied. "They know what they're doing.

"No way," Dommy interrupted. "I want a fight."

"Oh, Dom," Justine said, rolling her eyes.

"What's going on?" Stephie asked breathlessly as she and Francis arrived in the room.

"We heard a scream."

"They took Kaelin," Amanda said sharply.

"I'm not complaining," Dommy said.

"What's wrong with you?" Justine and Amanda chorused.

"What do you mean they took Kaelin?" Francis asked with confusion as Anna and Van Helsing turned around.

"He took her," Manda growled. "Dracula showed up and took her."

"You're serious, aren't you?" Stefie asked.

"Of course they're serious," Francis snapped.

"How could that have happened?" Stefie demanded. She glanced to Van Helsing and Anna as they approached, Kael not too far behind them. Her eyes seemed to widen in shock, but she said nothing, just turned away. Francis subconsciously wrapped his arm around her waist and waited for a reply.

"He got her when we were wandering around," Amanda finally admitted. "Jumped right out the window."

"Did you try to stop him?" Stefie inquired.

"Just before you showed up we had a devil of a time trying to convince her to not hunt them down in the forest," Van Helsing replied.

Justine frowned in confusion. Quickly she counted the heads in the room, and worry creased her forehead. "Where's Darey?"

"Ian's gone as well," Carl admitted.

"Ian?" Anna asked with surprise.

"Carl and him were following the children who were following us," Van Helsing explained.

"Ian's returned to the manor," Kael said, stepping up. "I'm not certain of Darey's whereabouts."

"I _knew_ it!" Stefie exclaimed, pointing an accusing finger at Kael. "You're the one who was in that room talking to Ian! You're in league with the bad guy! What did you do to Darey?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Van Helsing interrupted. "What are you talking about?"

"Stefie fell into a secret room and overheard Ian and some woman plotting against us," Francis explained.

"She told him to leave the kids to her," Stefie added.

"I knew someone was watching us," Kael said darkly.

"You and Ian, I should have known," Van Helsing said, pulling out his gun and pointed it at Kael. "Explain yourself."

Kael looked utterly shocked at his actions. "Yes," She said slowly, turning back to Stefie. "We had the conversation you overheard, but it wasn't like that. We were discussing the Sreain. Ian knew how dangerous things would be if they caught me. Even that I failed at. They found me anyways and forced me to resurrect Vladius. I said I'd take care of the kids meaning I'd be looking out for them. Horrible things will happen if Vladius and Deidre get their hands on one of you. I brought Anna back, though. To try and … even the odds, a bit."

"You seem to know a lot," Van Helsing acknowledged, unsure if it was a good thing or a bad thing.

"You wouldn't happen to know what happened to my memory, would you?" Carl asked.

"Queen Deidre took you. She demanded knowledge on the strangers. When she learned all she could she returned you, erasing your memory," Kael admitted. She glanced at the group of children; an almost unnoticeable proud smile graced her features.

Amanda cleared her throat, marching towards the door. "We need to leave this castle," She grumbled. Without a second word she stomped out, the others following, uncertainly, behind her.


	33. Chapter Thirty Two

AN: Thanks anett, God's Daughter, Aradia-Hornbeam, PhanPhic-adict, and Fortune Zyne

Aradia Hornbeam: Well, now that i've got another chappie out, i'll be expecting one from you soon, lol. As soon as possible, right? Thanks for the review!

PhanPhic-adict: Well, there's a bit of Ian later on in this Chap, so maybe it will help you make a decision about him? Thanks for the reivew!

Fortune Zyne: We already spoke, so i doubt there's anything to cover. I hope you like the end of the chap - friendship-wise. Thanks for the review!

CHAPTER THIRTY TWO

_Crash_!

Stefie, who had been walking slowly down to the kitchen, froze. She waited until the sound had fully registered in her mind, and then till the second crash came, before her sleepy eyes flew wide, and she darted down to the kitchen to find Dommy slamming doors, anything getting in the way of what he was looking for being tossed to the floor. Then, when he almost tripped over the pots he'd threw to the floor he would kick them, pushing things out of his way with fierceness.

"Dommy?" She asked slowly, nervously. His head whipped around to see her standing there, eyes practically glowing with frustration.

"What?" He grumbled, turning away and slamming into a chair, making it squeak hard against the wooden floor.

"Just checking, but … you're not going to go crazy and try to kill all of us, are you?" Stefie asked.

"Don't ask stupid questions," Dommy snapped. Stefie raised her eyebrow. "Trouble sleeping?"

"He was up till midnight wandering the halls," Justine said, yawning as she entered the room. She frowned looking around. "Why are there pots and pans all over the place? … Is that broken glass?"

"Didn't you hear the noise?" Stefie asked.

Justine shrugged. "I thought I heard something. But in a place like this, something could be anything, and I didn't want to think too much on it."

"Chicken." Justine simply shrugged good-naturedly without a reply.

Dommy stood and threw a porcelain bowl across the room. It crashed against the wall and then fell to pieces on the floor. Both Justine and Stefie winced. Dommy turned to glare at them and then walked over to the pantry, beginning to wreak havoc in there.

"How long until someone stops him?" Justine whispered.

"Are you going to?" Stefie asked.

"And risk my life? Sorry, I know that kid all too well, and he's crazy," Justine replied.

"No problem. I wasn't going to risk it, either. He can face VH when the time comes."

"Oiy," Justine replied, shaking her head, and then ducking out of the way as a wooden spoon flew towards her head. She straightened up and turned to Stefie, feeling her head. "I think he was aiming for me."

"I'm getting to safety."

So that's how Francis found them three minutes later, cowering at the doorway, jumping out of the way of flying objects.

"What are you doing?" He demanded.

"Hiding from the Demonic Dominick," Stefie replied. "Move!" She grabbed his shoulder and jerked him out of the way of a flying pot. His face quickly paled.

"What's going on?" He gasped.

"Dommy's finally lost it," Justine said, gesturing at her head with the 'coo coo' sign.

"This may shock you, Justine, but Dommy lost it a _long_ time a go," Francis replied. "I'm going to try and talk to him." He stepped into the room, dodging a substance that he wasn't even sure he wanted to know what it was.

"What do _you_ want?" Dommy asked, balancing some bread in his hand, waiting for Francis to reply.

"Just to talk. Why are you destroying the kitchen?"

Dommy chucked the bread across the room so it landed in an already boiling pot of water – the only thing that had yet to be destroyed. "I don't … know," He said slowly. He slumped into a chair, surveying the damage with his head in his palm.

"You better be ready to clean this mess up," Francis said, looking around. Justine and Stefie poked their heads in, peering around. When it seemed Dommy wasn't trying to kill anyone, they entered as well.

"I ain't cleaning any mess up!" Dommy declared.

"You'd better," Francis snapped. "We've got enough to deal with without you being you."

"Speaking of which … any word on Darey?" Justine asked, looking around.

Stefie shook her head. "I didn't see her when we got back. Still, she could have just locked herself in another room … or something." She bit her lip.

Dommy picked up a cup and half-heartedly tossed it to the floor as Amanda strolled into the room, ignoring the mess as she quickly maneuvered her way around. She stood in front of everyone, meeting each eye.

"I'm going after Kaelin," She announced. "Who's with me?"

"Back up," Stefie said. "How'd you completely ignore all the mess on the floor?"

"Have you ever been to my house?" Amanda asked. Then she looked around, repeating her question.

Dommy jumped up, his eyes wide with excitement. "Yes! I'm with you."

Amanda grinned. "Anyone else?"

"Van Helsing said we'd figure out a plan to get her back," Justine pointed out.

"Hero or not, he doesn't know what he's talking about. I'm not waiting until it's too late to save my friend. If you're not coming, just say it."

"We're not coming because _you're_ not going," Francis said. "Let's try, for once, to _not_ run blindly into a situation, okay? Van Helsing knows what he's doing. We're just going to have to wait for him."

Amanda scowled. "Are you a man, or are you a mouse?" She demanded.

"That's not fair," Justine pointed out.

"What part of any of this seems fair?" Amanda demanded. "I'm going after Kaelin."

"No you're not," Francis replied.

"Are you going to stop me?" Amanda demanded.

"No, but Van Helsing will as soon as he finds out what you're up to," Stefie pointed out.

"You'd better not tell," Dommy hissed.

"You're _not_ going," Francis snapped. "We can't afford to lose anymore of us."

Amanda drew in a sharp, angry breath, and then said, though clenched teeth, "Fine. We'll wait. But I'm not waiting for too long."

"Just long enough for VH to come up with something," Stefie assured her.

Amanda looked around, before stomping out of the room. Dommy started to follow her, but Francis grabbed him, pulling him back.

"You're going to clean up this mess you made," He told him.

Dommy narrowed his eyes, and pulled away. "Yeah, alright," He muttered. "But you're still a wuss!"

VAN HELSING AND KAEL

A LITTLE WHILE LATER

Van Helsing narrowed his eyes. "Where are Dracula and the Sreain?"

Kael, who'd just allowed a drop of tea to begin to slide down her throat immediately began to choke. She jumped up, tapping on her chest for a moment before the coughing stopped. When it did, she slowly slid back into her chair, face red. "Eh … what?"

"I'm certain you know of Dracula's whereabouts."

"More than I'd like to," Kael replied, her face wrinkled with disgust. The she looked Van Helsing over, concern showing on her face for the first time. "You remember nothing?"

The monster hunter was surprised by the question. "No," He said, studying her. "What's there to remember?"

"A lifetime," Kael said softly. "How can anyone go without remembering anything of their life before? If I were to forget my parents … do you at least remember your parents?"

"I don't have a family," Van Helsing replied.

Kael chuckled a little, sitting back. "Me neither."

"Why are you asking all this?" Van Helsing asked.

"It could be I just want to turn the attention from me to you. Or I could be trying to make a point out of all this." She leaned in forward. "Which do you think?"

"I'd think both," Van Helsing replied, watching her uncertainly.

"So would I," Kael said, leaning back in her chair. "My Mother was killed by the Sreain's queen when I was nine. Dracula took my Father. I have nothing, but my memories allow me to have everything at the same time. My parents are gone, but their spirits still … haunt me, so to say. They demand vengeance, and I would give anything to give it to them."

"So why did you resurrect Dracula?"

"I didn't have a choice," Kael said simply. She took a sip of her tea. "Deidre threatened me. I couldn't take the risk that offered. You want to know why I summoned Anna here."

"Yes, I would."

"Anna was the last descendant of the Valerious line. She was important to the final battle between Dracula. I needed someone who could help … who would be capable of bringing him down again. You know it will come down to that, don't you? Dracula can't be allowed to go on a corpse of life."

"Of course not," Van Helsing said. "But in order to destroy Dracula, I need to know where to find him."

"Would you risk people getting hurt again … just to get Dracula?" Kael asked.

"Not again," Van Helsing said.

"Exactly. Maybe it's best to wait. Running in without a second thought got people hurt last time."

"Where is Dracula?" Van Helsing demanded; ignoring the little speech Kael had given.

"… In the Deserted Forest. There's an underground castle in the center left there by who knows," Kael finally revealed.

"What good does it do you to be siding with us?" Van Helsing asked.

Kael pursed her lips. "I've got business here," She said simply.

"Care to elaborate?"

"No, not really," Kael replied.

Van Helsing began to pace the floor. "With you knowing where they are, it's likely they've relocated, right?"

"I hadn't thought of that," Kael said, suddenly looking, for the first time, truly surprised. "They would. Deidre would not want to risk her plan."

"And that would be …?"

"Why would I know? I was just there to bring Dracula back."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"She was lying," Van Helsing announced, moving along the grounds with Carl. By now it was midday. There had been no sign of Ian or Darey all day. He ran into Anna earlier, but she'd decided to spend some time with Kael just as Van Helsing had. She was interested in learning about the woman who had given her life again.

"Hmm?" Carl asked, looking startled.

"When she was telling me about why she brought Anna back … she was lying."

"What makes you think that?" Carl asked.

Van Helsing stopped, taking a pebble into his hands and rolling it about. "She almost had me fooled, but there was a point when she shifted uncomfortably. There was something off about what she'd said. Now that I think on it, she had to have been lying."

"But why would she lie about something so trivial?" Carl asked.

Van Helsing looked up uncertainly. "I'm not sure."

STEFIE AND FRANCIS

"Okay, I'm officially concerned," Stefie said, stepping into the room with her hands on her hips. Francis turned and looked at her with confusion.

"What?"

Stefie took a seat next to him. "Darey's been missing since last night, and I can't find her anywhere. I'm beginning to think we may have either left her in Castle Dracula, she went somewhere without us, or Dracula took her, too."

"All are very liable," Francis replied.

"Well _we_ need to find her."

"You wouldn't let Amanda and Dommy go and look for Kaelin," Francis pointed out.

"No, _you_ wouldn't let them. _I_ didn't say anything. Or did I? … No, no I didn't."

Francis shook his head. "How do you expect to find Darey? How do you even know she's not here?"

"It's sort of like Spiderman's spider sense. I have Darey senses, and they tell me Darey's not here."

Francis blinked.

"Okay, okay, I _don't_ have a Darey sense. But I'm still concerned. I think we should check the areas around. We might find her," Stefie suggested.

"I'll think about it. But don't do anything without telling me, first," Francis said.

"Now you _know_ I would never do that."

JUSTINE

She'd never thought she could be so bored out of her mind, but at that moment she was practically going crazy. She was really beginning to long for her modern technology … like her cell phone. If she had her cell phone, maybe she could at least text-message one of her friends, like Liz. But since there was no such thing as 'real technology', she could settle with attempting to read some classical novels. She entered the library, searching quickly through the books for something to read. Eventually she found something on Romanian legends, and settled into a chair.

It was fifteen minutes before she was pulled away from her novel by someone entering the room. She looked up to see Ian walking in. He didn't seem to see her, as he moved quickly to the walls of shelves.

Justine cleared her throat, and Ian looked up sharply, startled by the noise. He glanced around the room, suddenly noticing Justine.

"Oh, sorry," He murmured. He glanced at the books, and then seemed to change his mind, walking over to Justine.

"Looking for anything interesting?" Justine asked. She wasn't afraid of Ian at all. Not anymore, at least. Kael had said that they were just looking out for their best interest, and she really wanted to believe it.

"Ah, no. Just trying to find a book I saw in here a long time ago. What do you have there?"

"Romanian legends," Justine replied, holding the book up. Ian chuckled.

"Have you gotten to the story about the ghost of Castle Sveth?" Ian inquired, taking a seat across from Justine.

"Not yet," Justine said with a shrug. "I just started. I'm on the one about the goat's milk."

"Well then, I shouldn't keep you," Ian said, standing to leave.

"Wait!" Justine said. Ian turned, looking back at her with curiosity. "You're not much older than I am. Don't you ever have … fun?"

Ian chuckled, crossing his arms over his chest. "We enjoy scaring the usual strangers that dare enter here," He replied.

Justine rolled her eyes. "Yeah, well, that doesn't go over too well with your guests. But really, I mean, this place is so different from my world. There we go to mall's on Friday nights, watch movies, hang out."

"I don't really know what all those things are," Ian told her.

"Exactly. Look, I'll try and explain more to you about _my_ world … if you help me get the hang of _this_ world."

"Alright," Ian said taking a seat. "Alright then, start by telling me of these malls."

DOMMY AND AMANDA

"Sometimes you really confuse me, Manda. You told Francis you _weren't_ going to go off on your own, yet here we are. Will you mind telling me exactly what your plan is?" Dommy asked.

"Shh," Amanda hissed, peering over the stack of hay at the stables. "I told Francis that so he'd drop it. Did you really think I'd just leave Kaelin out there like that? Did you get the maps?"

"Right here," Dommy said, handing over a rolled up bit of paper. "Kael said that Dracula was staying in the center of the Deserted Forest. Right there."

"Yeah, I see it. You sure this is it? It has 'Beware' written all over it," Amanda pointed out.

"Well did you figure Dracula and the Sreain to hang anywhere else?"

"Not really," Amanda said, shaking her head. "Alright, I snagged some bread and stuff from the kitchen. Your canteen-thingy full of water?"

"Fresh from the murky brown lake," Dommy said, holding it up. Amanda shook her head in disgust.

"I hate the 18th century. Alright, let's get going." The two moved quickly over to the stables, stopping beside a horse.

"This shouldn't be too hard," Amanda said, looking the closest and remotely calmest horse over.

"Said the hare to the turtle," Dommy murmured.

"Quiet you. So what was with throwing everything all over the kitchen this morning?" Amanda asked, trying to figure out how to put the saddle on.

"Just some bad dreams," Dommy said quietly.

Amanda let out a frustrated grunt. "They make this look a whole lot easier on TV."

"Everything looks easier on TV. That's why it's TV."

"Riiiight," Amanda said, shaking her head.

"Watch your foot!" A voice snapped.

"Quick, duck!" Amanda hissed in a whisper, pulling Dommy away. The two peered around the corner to see Stefie and Francis approaching.

"I still don't think this is such a good idea," Francis said. "Van Helsing clearly said -."

"Darey could be in danger. We have to at least try and find her," Stefie replied.

"Interesting," Amanda said, standing up and walking over to Stefie and Francis, Dommy following quickly behind her. "So I have to listen to VH, but _you_ two don't."

"Doesn't really look to me like you were listening to Helsing," Stefie said. Amanda flushed a light red, looking to Dommy.

"Are you an attorney? Because we're not under any oath," Dommy replied.

"Oh Dommy, quite it," Amanda said, rolling her eyes. "So you think Drac has Darey?"

"It's the only logical explanation. She's been missing since yesterday," Stefie replied.

"We're just going to search around in case Darey went off on her own. We don't even know where Dracula is staying," Francis added.

"We do," Amanda said smugly, holding the maps up. "Apparently that Kael lady knew a thing or two about their hide-out."

"Give me that," Stefie said, reaching out for the papers. Amanda drew back.

"Since we all seem to be heading the same way without VH's approval, I say we team up," Amanda said.

"It's for a good cause," Stefie said, nodding her head.

"Great. Now if only we could figure out how to get the saddle on," Dommy said, giving the horse a dirty look.

Stefie shook her head, picking up the saddle. "Didn't I ever tell you guys? My Mom made me take horse riding lessons for five years in a row. I'm a natural. Francis comes with me, Dommy ride with Manda. We're going to get our friends back."


	34. Chapter Thirty Three

AN: Hee hee. I blame the hype of Halloween – best holiday on the face of the planet! ehem Anyhoo, thanks to: Hummingbird, Aradia-Hornbeam, and Fortune-Zyne

Aradia-Hornbeam: Enid Blyton? Who's that? Hope you'll like the end of this chap. Really think you're gonna like the next one the best, though. Thanks for the review!

CHAPTER THIRTY THREE

Van Helsing pushed sharply on the door, stepping into the library with Carl and Anna following quickly behind him. Justine and Ian, who had been sitting on the couch enjoying a conversation jumped up at the annoyed look on the monster hunter's face.

"Where are the others?" He demanded, looking sharply at Justine. She swallowed nervously.

"I don't know," She said slowly. "I'd figure they would be in the kitchen or something."

"They're not. As far as we've searched they are nowhere," Anna replied.

"Oh," Justine said slowly, letting a quick breath out. "Maybe they … went fishing?"

Everyone blinked at the stupidity of the statement.

"What?" Van Helsing asked.

"Well Dommy likes fishing if I remember correctly and seeing as how it's such a nice -." She glanced out the window to see the sky darkening and storm clouds brewing. She swallowed again before sheepishly turning back. "- Day outside?"

"Perhaps in the world they come from, nice days are rainy days," Carl suggested.

"No," Justine said, letting out a sigh. "If you can't find them then it's likely that they left."

"Left?" Anna and Van Helsing demanded.

"For where?" Ian inquired.

"To get Dracula, I'd suppose," Van Helsing snapped. "I knew I should have locked them in their rooms for safety."

"You were going to lock us in our rooms?" Justine exclaimed, seeming horrified.

"They couldn't have gotten far," Anna said to Van Helsing. "If we move quickly we could probably catch them. It's unlikely they even know where their friend is being kept."

"Are you sure they've gone off," Ian said quickly. "Perhaps you're simply mistaken."

"I don't think so," Justine replied. "This morning they were arguing about whether or not to go and find Dracula and the Sreain without Van Helsing's permission. Francis managed to talk Amanda and Dommy out of it, but I guess with the worry of Darey still missing, and the Bahrens' stubbornness, they decided to go off and try and find them."

"Darey's still missing?" Carl asked uncertainly.

Kael, who had been passing by, poked her head in the door and watched the exchange with interest.

"I guess so," Justine said with a hesitant shrug.

"Still, they can't get far without an idea of where to go," Anna repeated.

"They know where to go," Van Helsing said with a sigh.

"Huh?" Justine asked.

"Kael told me where the Sreain had been staying when they'd taken her captive. I'm sure one of them over heard and told the others. Many of the maps are missing as well, which gives credence to that theory."

"Do they think this a game?" Anna demanded.

"Perhaps I could be of some assistance," Kael said, stepping further in. Ian cocked his head to the side, surprised to see her there.

"_Kael_?" He asked with uncertainty.

"Hello," She said. She turned to Van Helsing and Anna. "I … couldn't help but over hear. I can't help but feel partly responsible for what happened. Maybe I could help …?"

"Unless you know where they are, there would be no use," Van Helsing replied.

"Actually, I could try and find out for you," She replied. "But on one condition – I want to come with you."

"Why?" Carl asked, moving out of Kael's sharp glare. Ian cocked his head with curiosity as if he wondered where she was going with this.

"I want to make sure the children are safe. I could be very useful in any sort of situation, and -."

"No," Van Helsing interrupted. The woman frowned.

"Then I will not help you find them."

"How could you even tell where they are?" Anna countered.

"I have a connection with the spirit world," Kael said, annoyance clear on her face. "I've had it since I was a child – it's how I managed to bring you back. If I could connect with a spirit, they could find for me where the children roam."

"The knowledge would be appreciated, but I will not allow you to come. We still don't know if we can trust you," Van Helsing replied.

"I'm no longer a child!" Kael exclaimed. "If I wanted to hurt you I wouldn't have helped you!"

"Still -."

"I think we should let her try," Justine said, quickly regretting speaking at all as everyone stared at her. "This place is nothing like the world we come from. There are monsters out there! If we find them sooner, then there's less chance they get hurt. Things are weird, but they're still my friends."

"Fine," Van Helsing said after a long silence. "I will allow you to come if you help us find the children. And soon, night will be approaching."

Kael nodded in agreement. "It won't take long," She replied. Still standing she closed her eyes and stood stiffly in the middle of the room. Several seconds later she had fallen to the floor, no one having time to react. They quickly crowded around to see if she was alright, but Ian interrupted explaining that Kael could not be bothered by outside forces.

It seemed like an eternity, but finally Kael shot up, eyes wide open and gasping.

"Are you alright?" Anna asked.

"I'm fine," She choked. She took in a few more sharp breaths then looked at Van Helsing. "They've gotten lost and just missed the Deserted Forest, arriving in a small forest rarely known to humans. They are fine at this moment, but I sense danger is on its way." She jumped up. "We must hurry."

"Of course," Van Helsing said with a nod.

"We had a bargain!" Kael exclaimed as Van Helsing dragged her swiftly down the hall.

"It's for your own protection," Van Helsing countered, pulling open a closet door. "If Dracula or the Sreain were to find you, chances are you won't escape."

"You said you'd take me!" Kael practically whined.

Ignoring her, Van Helsing gently pushed her into the closet and then closed the door behind her, quickly turning the lock. Inside Kael spun around to start banging on the door. "I'll get out of here!" She vowed. "By god, I'll find a way out of here, and you'll hear from me, I swear it! Van Helsing?"

Her curses of dark words followed Van Helsing as he hastily moved down the hall, placing his hat on his head as he moved. He met Anna and the others at the bottom of the stairwell.

"Carl ready three horses," He instructed.

"Do you think it best to leave that woman here?" Anna inquired.

"No," Van Helsing admitted. "But I thought it best. Justine, I believe it would be best if you and Ian stayed here. Keep an eye on things while we're gone."

"No problem," Justine said, looking relieved as her eyes drifted to Ian. He, however, seemed slightly troubled. He did noticed Justine's look and tried to smile encouragingly at her, to which she returned.

"We'll try to get in tonight, but if it takes longer than expected we'll be back by tomorrow," Van Helsing said.

"What if something comes up?" Ian asked.

"If we are caught then we will try to handle the situation ourselves. We may be detained, but we shall return," Van Helsing continued.

"Horses are already set," Carl said; running back into the room.

"I had the stable man take care of it while you were dealing with Kael," Ian replied to the unasked question.

Van Helsing nodded. "Then we're off. Come along, Carl."

"Me?" The friar asked, paling. "Why me?"

Anna and Van Helsing shared a humored grin and then continued out the door, Carl behind them.

AMANDA AND DOMMY

The young boy winced. He puffed his cheeks out as if that would take the pain in his arms away, but it did nothing to dull the ache. He squirmed a bit, trying to ignore the dark look his sister was sending him. After a moment he left out a pathetic moan.

"Shh!" Amanda hissed.

"I can't take this!" Dommy snapped. "I'm taking my chances with it!" He let his grip go and dropped from the tree, amazingly managing to land on his feet without a problem. He glanced up to see his sister still dangling from the high branch. By the way she was moving it wouldn't be much longer before she fell.

"Are you coming?" He demanded.

"Quiet! It will hear you!" She called back.

"Are you coming?" Dommy repeated, not listening to anything his sister had said. She rolled her eyes. "Sorry, Dom. I wasn't switched with a monkey at birth like you were!" She called back. She bit her lip, and then couldn't help it when the branch slipped through her fingers and she began to tumble to the ground. Unfortunately, she couldn't stuff the scream that escaped her lips. Fortunately, though, she managed to land in a soft but cold pile of snow packed beside the tree. Her side felt painful, but as far as she knew nothing was broken or seriously injured. They didn't have much time to relax as a howl erupted in the distance.

"We have to move," Amanda said, grabbing her brother's small hand and dragging him down the path. The moved quickly, trying to duck and dodge every branch that got in their way.

"It's … getting … closer," Dommy panted.

"I know," Amanda gasped, glancing behind she could catch a vague glimpse of the dark shape coming upon them. "Hurry!"

"I'm hurrying!" Dommy spat back. The two pushed their tired bodies further so that to try and escape the thing that followed them.

"Up ahead," Amanda said. She pushed Dommy into the small crevice of the little cave. "Stay here."

"What about you?" Dommy asked.

"I'm going to lure it away." She glanced behind her again, her breath hitching with panic. "Stay here!"

"Manda!" Dommy called as his sister vanished. He pulled deeper into the small cave, forcing himself not to cry out as he saw the blur of the beast rush past. No doubt following his sister. They had gotten lost – at least Francis had insisted they weren't lost, but Dommy was certain they were. Night had begun to set in and things were getting colder. That was when they thing had attacked. Dommy knew it was a wolf, although it was bigger and darker than the average wolves he'd seen at the zoo. They had attacked, quickly taking down Stefie and Francis' horse. They'd all managed to run away as the beast enjoyed the horse. His and Amanda's horse had gotten frightened of the beast, and had run off, knocking the two off in its haste. They had all run away for almost ten minutes before the beast had found them again. They'd split up to confuse it. Amanda forced Dommy to climb up a tall tree while the creature regrettably went after Stefie and Francis. The two had reached one tall branch and had sat there breathlessly for a bit before Dommy had slipped, managing to hold on a bit while Amanda tried to pull him up. Unfortunately she ended up slipping and dangling there along with him.

Now they were all separated, and Dommy felt remotely terrified to be alone. He was even more afraid of what could have become of Francis and Stefie while they'd cowered in a tree. He also feared for his sister … had she managed to get away? They'd never had a chance.

He breathed into his cold fingers, able to see his breath in the dim light. He waited a few minutes, before finally resolving to go out and try and find someone. Luckily enough, they found him. As soon as Dommy climbed out of the cave someone grabbed him, covering his mouth from behind. He screamed into the cold hand and tried to squirm away, only to have Stefie's head peek around. She mouthed 'no', and he relaxed.

"You okay?" She whispered, Francis stepping up next to her.

"I'm fine," He whispered. "How'd you find me?"

"We got lucky. Saw your head poke out as we were coming down this way," Francis replied quietly.

"Where's Manda?" Stefie inquired.

"She lured it away," Dommy said. Before he could continue, a shot was heard through the brittle air. Every head turned in the direction of the noise. Another shot rang loud and clear.

"What do you think it was?" Francis asked Stefie.

She shook her head. "I'm not sure. We'd better check it out."

"How did you manage to get away from it?" Dommy asked, walking swiftly between the two.

"We managed to zig around a bit until we'd lost it. Then we heard Manda scream, and was sure it would come this way," Stefie replied. They came out into a clearing where Amanda stood to the far left near three shadowed horses and riders. A man lay dying on the ground before them.

"Whoa," Dommy said. He moved forward towards the man.

"No!" Stefie and Francis chorused. Dommy stopped and looked at them with confusion as a person slid off of the horse. He approached the now still body and checked the pulse before straightening up, face catching in the moonlight.

"Helsing?" Dommy asked with confusion. He walked towards him. "Where'd you come from?"

The monster hunter looked at the boy with darkness in his eyes. "That beast could have got you," He told Dominick sharply. He looked at the others. "All of you … because of your carelessness!"

Anna climbed down and approached Van Helsing, her hand resting on his shoulder. He shrugged it off and stepped closer to Dommy, who stumbled backward, afraid of the man before him. Amanda quickly stood next to Dommy, Stefie, and Francis almost reluctantly.

"I told you _not_ to go off on your own. You could have gotten killed. One of you could be lying dead at this moment instead of that werewolf there! Do you have any idea how lucky you are that we showed up? You had no defenses, no safety. Did you not think?" He continued to scold the children, Dommy shocking himself as tears began to brim his eyes. He quickly brushed them back, staring defiantly at Van Helsing.

The monster hunter noticed it, and stopped. Inside his mind was in turmoil with guilt for shouting, but he had to teach them … they had to know. His voice still as steel, he said, "Now climb upon those horses. We shall ride to the nearest town and stay there for the night. Understood?"

The kids nodded solemnly, quickly walking away to where Carl quietly greeted them. Anna came closer to Van Helsing.

"It must have been painful," She said softly.

"I didn't want to yell at them," He said, shaking his head. "But I don't want them to do something so stupid again. I had to try to get a point across."

"You did well," She replied, kissing him on the cheek as she moved away. "Let us head out hastily. Creatures are great to deceive at this hour," She called to the others, Van Helsing following behind her.


	35. Chapter Thirty Four

AN: Thanks to my reviewers, Fortune Zyne, Novthoniel, CrazyRabidChicken, and Aradia-Hornbeam

Aradia-Hornbeam: Don't worry, a Kaelin chap. Will be coming up eventually. Right now I just want to keep you guys in suspense a bit longer, lol. Thanks for the review!

CrazyRabidChicken: I beg to differ. I mean, it seemed as if they both had a thing for each other, but you're not really sure if they _loved_ each other. Anyhoo, you might like this chap. Not exactly Anna-VH fluff, but Anna will discuss her feelings with someone. Thanks for the review!

CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR

The call of blazing fires seen through the trees had Van Helsing and the rest of the gang stopping. It seemed like a fine enough place to stay, however it was curious as to why there was such joyful noise. Still, it called to the weary travelers and they pulled to a stop just outside. Van Helsing climbed off his horse and glanced around, slowly gesturing for the others to follow him. They moved into the clearing to see a large festival going on. Anna dismounted and stood beside Van Helsing, watching with confusion.

"Excuse me," Van Helsing called to a young man running past. The person stopped and looked back.

"Ello," He said joyously.

"What's going on here?" Anna questioned.

"Celebration. The town elder has finally given us an heir," The man explained. "Come, join in on the fun." He darted away.

The kids slid off their horses looking around and taking in the sites with interest. Everything had been set up outside, despite the harsh cold. There were at least three bonfires that could be seen, which warmed the air. There was dancing and drinking all around. Some were even playing games. Young children were running around, some splattered in mud. Several adults were carrying large crates filled with whiskey and fruits saved up for a special occasion.

Van Helsing frowned at the scene. They needed a place to stay the night, in case Dracula returned. He didn't necessarily wish to stay here, but at the moment it seemed like the only choice. The next village was at least an hour's ride away, and they couldn't take that risk.

"We'll have to stay here," He announced to the group behind him.

The children nodded solemnly, still a little nervous from when he had yelled at them earlier. Anna and Carl exchanged a glance.

"Will they have room for visitors?" Anna inquired.

"They wish to share in their merriment," Van Helsing replied, looking around. "No doubt someone will be willing to offer up a place to stay the night."

"Perhaps it's best to try and find an inn to stay," Carl suggested, looking around nervously.

"In a town this small?" Anna replied. "It's unlikely that they would have an inn."

"Not that I'd expect to really have a say in anything," Dommy interrupted. "But I for one would not feel comfortable sharing a room with pigs."

"No one said you would be sharing a room with pigs," Amanda grumbled.

"This is the 1800's. People were hick farmers with only enough room in their houses for their families, and then tons of land for farm animals," Dommy countered.

"No one will be sleeping with pigs," Anna interrupted.

"In that case, can I not sleep in a room with Francis? He snores," Dommy said.

"Could you be normal for five minutes?" Amanda snapped.

"For a bit there I think I missed the arguing," Carl said. Van Helsing shook his head.

"I will inquire upon the villagers about a place to stay. Wait here," He instructed, fixing his hat and stalking off.

"He's still mad at us, isn't he?" Stefie asked nervously.

"He was never mad with you," Anna replied gently. "He was just worried. You should never have taken off like that. You put yourselves in danger, and that was a most dire thing to do. I understand your frustration, but we must not be rash at a time like this."

"Yes Mom," Dommy said, rolling his eyes.

"How is a young child like you involved in this?" Anna asked curiously.

"The funny tunnel on the wall pulled me through," Dommy replied.

"I don't understand," Anna said, seeming confused by the words. Dommy then began to explain the situation from the beginning and from his point of view. As Dommy gave the details of their trip so far, Stefie took Francis' hand and pulled him into the crowd.

Carl soon took notice of another man of the cross walking across the street. Curious, he followed after him, leaving only Anna, enthralled in Dommy's story, and Amanda, watching her brother. When Dommy finished, he looked around with a frown.

"I didn't realize I was that bad at telling stories," He said. The others looked around with confusion. Anna frowned when she noticed Carl, Stefie, and Francis were all gone. She quickly began to search through the crowd, Amanda joining in with her.

Dommy frowned, looking around the way while Anna and Amanda were distracted. He caught sight of what seemed to be a wise woman leaning on a crutch as she moved along. He grinned mischievously and rubbed his fingers together, demon horns practically appeared on his forehead. He glanced back at his sister and Anna, and then darted away so quickly he was hardly even noticed.

When Amanda and Anna turned back, they both looked surprised to see Dommy gone. "When I get my hands on that kid," Amanda muttered under her breath with a frown.

"Where could everyone have gone?" Anna asked with concern, watching as the partying continued, everyone out of sight.

"I'm sure my brother has gone off to do some damage, no doubt," Amanda said with a frown. "Stefie most likely has dragged Francis away to enjoy the fun, and Carl is most likely doing something boring."

"You seem to know them all well," Anna said softly. Amanda shrugged.

"I'm, probably wrong about Carl," She replied. "But I'm almost certain on the others." She suddenly frowned, looking at Anna. "Where's Justine?"

"Who?"

"The blond girl. We left her behind because she would have been too afraid to come, but she's not here with you."

"Oh, Van Helsing commanded her to stay with Ian," Anna replied.

"I bet she liked that," Amanda said with a grin.

"Why would you say that?" Anna inquired.

"I think Justine has a _thing_ for your dear … cousin, was it?"

"Yes," Anna replied. "That is very interesting. But from what you say, I'm sure it would not last."

I think it's just a crush," Amanda replied. Then she frowned, looking at Anna out of the corner of her eye. "I don't want to butt-in, err, inquire upon something that isn't necessarily my business, but what exactly is going on with you and Van Helsing?"

"What?" Anna asked, looking with surprise at the girl.

"Well, I know you kissed and everything, but I have a theory that that was simply off of an adrenaline rush. Do you really like the guy, or what?"

"That is hardly an appropriate subject for a young lady," Anna said.

"First thing, you had no trouble discussing Justine and Ian," Amanda pointed out.

"They are children," Anna replied. "They do not know anything of real feelings."

"Second," Amanda continued. "I'm from the one hundred and some odd years in the future. Where I'm from, it's hardly inappropriate to discuss anything of that sort. So spill."

"Van Helsing is a very … captivating man," Anna said quietly.

Amanda grinned. "Alright, we're getting somewhere. Go on." When Anna didn't continue she frowned again. "If you don't tell me, who are you going to tell?"

"No one. These things should not be discussed," Anna said.

"You _do_ like him, don't you?" Amanda asked.

"I would hardly know if what I feel for Mr. Van Helsing is just something left over from all those years before. I barely know him anymore," Anna said.

"I don't think he's changed too much," Amanda replied. "Aside from being a bit more … depressed, I suppose. I really think he feels guilty about what happened to you."

"He doesn't need to," Anna said. "Still, this is a time not for romance, but for work. We must once again rid the world of Dracula, and those women."

"I don't know," Amanda said. "If this is as much of a story as your last escapade together was, I'd think there would be an excellent chance of you two hooking up."

The two stood in silence for a few moments, before a group of people holding hands dancing about grabbed onto Anna and pulled her in. She, in turn, grabbed Amanda, and the two joined the festivities. Moments later Van Helsing returned, staring at the empty spot with vague concern. He glanced around, seeing Stefie and Francis emerge from the crowd with a group for others, preparing for an archery competition. Carl was standing with the monk and another man by a closed stand in a heated discussion. He caught a glimpse of Dommy running over to Stefie and Francis with a walking stick in his hand, an old woman watching from the distance as she sat on a bundle of crates. Finally he saw Anna and Amanda circle around with the dancers, now laughing and allowing themselves to enjoy the festivities. He pressed his hat further over his head, resolving to allow them all a chance to relax before they were all faced with the dangerous task ahead.

He sighed and then turned, marching over to the beverage stand.


	36. Chapter Thirty Five

AN: Wow … it's weird to think that almost a year ago I started this story. I guess I feel bad about not finishing, but I'm gonna try, okay! Anyhoo, to do so I'm probably gonna have to cut a bunch of chapters from my original plans, but I hope the final product will be to everyone's liking. Anyhoo, here's an update!

CHAPTER THIRTY FIVE

Van Helsing marched across the semi-frozen ground and took a seat at the beverage stand, gesturing quickly to a bottle of whiskey. He glanced around as the bartender filled his glass and handed it to him.

"Thank you," He murmured, quickly giving the man payment. He sat back and watched Anna dancing, seeming to be having more fun than she has had in a while. It seemed logical, though. Now she was just relaxing, no longer stressing about having to save her family line. He just wished he could get into the feeling as well. But his mind was still on the task soon at hand.

After a few moments, a large man took a seat beside him at the stand. Van Helsing glanced out of the corner of his eye, and then went back to watching the dancing.

"Sure is a night for spirits," The man said.

Van Helsing nodded his head, though not quite sure if he meant drinks, happiness, or ghosts. Still he agreed. All of those things counted well to the night. He looked up at the clear sky, only clouded by the occasional bouts of smoke from the bonfires. "It's a night for many things," Van Helsing said.

"You worry about creatures, I suppose?" The man asked.

"Yes," Van Helsing said, still not looking away from the sky. "And others."

"Perhaps my eyes deceive me, but is that not the Princess Anna? Surely it is some illusion," The man said.

Van Helsing blinked, and then looked at the man closely. After a moment, he caught a wide grin from beneath the large hood. "Relax, my old friend," The man said. "It's just me."

"Frankenstein's Monster?" Van Helsing asked, sounding surprised. "How is this possible? I thought you were in Ireland."

"Last you heard, I was," Frankie replied, settling back on the stool and taking in the scenery. "Dr. Morreau got a sick call from his sister in Bulgaria about three weeks ago. I've just received word to meet up with him. It's to be our new home. As I was passing through, I heard that you had returned to Valeria. I figured to stop in for a visit, but just my luck, we find ourselves in the same village."

"It's good to see you again," Van Helsing said, patting Frankie on the back.

"So explain to me. What has you here? And is that truly the Princess?" Frankie asked.

"It's complicated," Van Helsing said with a sigh.

"Does it have anything to do with the children?" Frankie asked. "I saw you enter the village with them."

"Sort of," Van Helsing replied. "Dracula's returned."

"Has he?" Frankie asked, sounding interested.

"A young woman named Kael was supposedly tricked into bringing him back. And she decided to make up for it by bringing Anna back."

"So it is really the Princess, then," Frankie said. "Fascinating."

"The children are from another world, if what they claim is true," Van Helsing added.

They turned to see Dommy now racing around one of the bonfires with Stefie chasing after him, Francis watching. "According to them, we're the equivalent of a play in their land. They know everything there is to know about us."

"_Really_?" Frankie asked. "Do they know our future?"

"They know of the events of your creation," Van Helsing explained. "They know what happened the night of Dracula's death, but that's about it. They cannot foresee our future, but something tells me they expect certain things. It's as if they know something we do not."

"Perhaps it's for the best, then. What would man be if they knew their own future? So that's all of them, then?" Frankie asked. "The little boy and the two watching him. The girl with Anna?"

"There's three more," Van Helsing said. "Quite unfortunately, one of them, Kaelin, was taken captive by Dracula a night ago. The other, Justine, is back at the castle for safety measures. These four snuck out to try and find their friend – the one taken by Dracula."

"What about the last one?" Frankie asked.

"Darey," Van Helsing said. "We're not quite sure what happened to her. She was last seen in Dracula's castle."

"You seemed lost," Frankie said, turning to the bar tender and gesturing for another glass. "This is quite a serious situation you've found yourself in."

"Yes," Van Helsing agreed. "The arrival of the children has just made it all the more difficult. I don't want to see them get hurt, but it seems they're being drawn into this against my doings."

"I see," Frankenstein said. "What of Dracula? He is alone, correct?"

"No," Van Helsing said. "Quite unfortunately. He's working with a group of warrior-witches known as the Sreain."

"It's been some time since you've enjoyed yourself, hasn't it?" Frankie asked. Van Helsing looked at him in surprise. "Carl wrote to me. He told me of your constant work."

"If I don't do my job, then who will?" Van Helsing countered.

"Take a look," Frankie said, gesturing to Anna who was now laughing. "I spent a year of my existence hiding out under ground. I will never make a mistake like that – this world is such an amazing place to see. You, however, are still living from the past. You need to take this chance. Anna has been returned to you, and you snub this gift in the face. You're safe here, I assure you. So enjoy the time you have."

"It's not as easy as that," Van Helsing replied.

"It couldn't be less complicated," Frankie stated. "You can hardly focus on the things you can't see if you're only centered on what's there. Go to the Princess. Take this small moment of happiness and add to it. Who knows how many moments you will have of it."

Van Helsing met his gaze. "Perhaps you've learned more than I these past years. Would you like to come with me? I'm sure Anna would be grateful to see you again."

"No, I just wish to enjoy my time here, while I may. You can come seek me out later, before you retire. I leave in the morning," Frankie explained.

"It's been short, my friend. Next time we shall have to extend our visit," Van Helsing said, patting Frankie on the back. Then he moved through the crowd to Anna's side, pulling her into a single dance.

Dommy ran to Amanda's side, panting slightly. "Hey Manda, who was that guy VH was talking to?"

"What guy?" She asked, looking away from Anna and Van Helsing and down to her brother.

"The big guy," Francis said, gesturing to the seat where Frankenstein's Monster sat, still hidden by his cloak.

"I think he talked Van Helsing into having fun," Stefie said, smiling lightly.

"It's about time. That guy is such a stiff," Dommy said, rolling his eyes.

"Says the kid who wants to be just like him," Francis said.

Dommy puffed his chest out to seem manly. "At least I'm not a sissy boy," He replied in a deep voice.

"Why you -," Francis started, but with a shriek Dommy had run off. Francis was quick to pursue, leaving Stefie and Amanda.

Stefie leaned against the tree, looking thoughtful as Amanda gazed at the drink stand. "You don't think he could be … you know, Frank, do you?" She asked. Amanda frowned, before looking down at Stefie.

"Nah," She said. "What would he be doing here?"

"You're right," Stefie said. "I doubt he'd be out in public like this. Come on, let's join in the dancing!"

Amanda nodded and allowed Stefie to pull her into the crowd, enjoying the joy pulsing through the air.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"And that's an iced cappuccino," Justine said, grinning up at Ian, who sat next to her on the couch. He smirked.

"And people where you're from enjoy these things?" He asked.

"Well, yeah. I mean, look at your drink supply, and then look at an iced cappuccino. Think about it, anyways. Quite clearly the cappuccino wins out," Justine replied.

"So this is what you do at a mall? Sit around and drink iced cappuccinos?" Ian asked.

"Well, we also do shopping," Justine said.

"Shopping? For what?" Ian asked.

"Well for clothes, duh," Justine said.

Ian blinked in confusion. "Doesn't your mother sew your clothes?"

At this Justine burst out laughing. "God, no! There's a thought. _My_ mom doing anything with her hands? I don't think so."

"Well then who makes your clothes?"

"Companies," Justine replied.

"Ah, you mean those from the industrialization. I've heard of such a thing. However, I've been told the stitch work isn't as well as it could be. And it's a very dangerous profession," Ian said.

"I guess things are more different than I'd thought," Justine stated. "A machine makes the clothes, those clothes are sent to a store, and the store sells them to people. That's pretty much it."

"And you and your girlfriends do this on Friday nights," Ian said. "Go shopping and get drinks."

"No," Justine said, rolling her eyes. "Sometimes we go out to the movies, or we don't get the cappuccinos. Oh, and sometimes it's not just me and my 'girlfriends' that go out. We hang with guys, too. In fact, my friend Liz often ditches me to go out with her boyfriend."

"What about chaperones?" Ian asked.

"Chaperones?" Justine repeated incredulously. "God, this has to be like the fifteenth century!"

"You don't have chaperones?" Ian inquired.

"Not unless you're a _dork_," Justine said.

"But it's un-proper for a young woman to be alone with a young man," Ian said. "It's simply unheard of." Justine blinked, and slowly Ian looked around, realization coming to him. "Perhaps I should have remembered this sooner," He said, quickly getting up.

"Well, wait!" Justine said, following after him. "You can't leave me in here alone! It's creepy."

"You ride in vehicles that can go so fast, you watch boxes with people in it, and you go out without chaperones. How is it possible that you are afraid of the dark?" Ian asked.

"Different cultures have different fears," Justine explained. "Where I come from, we don't have to worry about monsters coming and carrying us off whenever we're alone."

"You don't need to worry about that either," Ian told her, quickly pulling his jacket on. "Valerius Manor has been blessed many times over. Now I'm to head outside to check on the horses. I believe a storm is brewing."

"Don't!" Justine said, grabbing onto Ian's arm. "Please, I'll … I'll go with you."

"The stables are no place for you to be," Ian said.

"You'll be there, won't you?" Justine asked.

Ian looked her over. "Go to your room, Miss Parker."

"Wouldn't it be more inappropriate to leave a young girl like myself all alone?" Justine asked.

Ian seemed slightly torn by this. He glanced out the window. "I shall walk you to your chambers, then."

"I'm not ready to go to bed," Justine scoffed.

"Then you can read a book. You still have that book on fairy tales, don't you?" Ian asked.

"Yes," Justine reluctantly admitted.

"Come, then. It's time you retire," Ian said. He held his arm out to Justine and she took it, following with him until they arrived at her door. The two stopped.

Justine swallowed, simply staring at the door.

"You must open it to step inside," Ian said, jiggling the door handle and pushing the door open. Justine spun to face him.

"What if -."

"Nothing bad will happen," Ian said. "I won't let it. You can trust me."

"I always have," Justine said quietly.

The two paused, and then Ian bent down, kissing her lightly on the lips. After a moment, he quickly straightened up.

"I shouldn't have done that," He said, looking Justine in the eyes.

She laughed nervously, still slightly dazed. "Hey, you don't hear me complaining."

Ian stood there for a few moments, looking at Justine, but then he tore his gaze away, quickly moving down the hall. "Goodnight, Miss Parker!" He called over his shoulder. Justine stared after him, and then slowly moved into her room.

AN: Alright, next chapter: an update on Kaelin, Drac, and Queen Deidre


	37. Chapter Thirty Six

AN: well, here's the chap that I know some of you have been waiting for. What's to become of Kaelin? So here it is! Dedicated to Sarah Harper: Happy Birthday!

Chapter Thirty Six

For the hundredth time Kaelin found herself fidgeting around with the ropes tying her into a chair. After a moment she let out a huff and leaned back against the chair, a scowl on her face.

"Having some trouble?" A voice said from the shadows. After a moment an elegant woman stepped out, her red hair flowing down her back. She smiled at Kaelin, and the girl couldn't help but feel slightly nervous.

"Yeah, actually," Kaelin said. "If you wouldn't mind un-doing these ropes? I'd be grateful." The woman simply laughed. "Fine, be that way."

"You have such a spirit," Queen Deidre said, looking Kaelin over. "You would make an excellent Sreain."

"No thanks, lady. I come from the _real world_. Okay? I don't do dark, scary, and fighting. Not my style. So … since I'm not to be recruited, how about you let me go?" Kaelin asked.

Queen Deidre looked Kaelin over, before grinning. "Perhaps I was incorrect in my assumptions. You may be further use to us than I'd expected. But enough of that. Now that you're actually speaking, I must inquire upon you about this necklace. Might I look at it?" Deidre asked, gesturing to the pendant around Kaelin's neck. The very same one she'd found in the back shed the other day.

"Might _I_ remind you that I'm the one tied to the chair? I hardly think I get a say in the matter," Kaelin said.

"Wise words," Deidre replied, reaching for the pendant. It, however, burned her. She shrieked, backing away. Kaelin's eyes widened in disbelief.

"I should have known," Deidre hissed, licking her wound, to which Kaelin grimaced. Finally, Deidre looked at Kaelin. "Where did you get Adriana's necklace?" She demanded.

Kaelin blinked. "Adriana's?" She asked. Her mind began to race to the strange dreams she'd been having ever since she'd arrived here, of a young woman named Adriana. So she had existed. Was it possible they were one in the same?

"Tell me!" Deidre commanded.

"The woods," Kaelin said quickly, looking at Deidre.

"You lie."

"No I don't!" Kaelin snapped. "I'm not a liar. I'm a lot of things, but not a liar."

"You stole it, didn't you?" Deidre asked.

"Steal? Me? Nah," Kaelin said. This trying to be brave thing was just making her even more terrified, but she tried not to show it. "I'm telling you, it was in the woods. Over by that manor place where Van Helsing is staying."

"Have you seen the girl? Kael?" Deidre asked.

Kaelin blinked again. "Who?"

"That is who you stole it from, isn't it?" Deidre demanded.

"For the last time, I didn't steal it! And if it belonged to some stupid girl named Kael, then I'm sure she should have taken better care of it because it was just lying in a box," Kaelin replied.

"Mistress," A haunting voice called. Kaelin tilted her head to the side, ignoring the way her dark bangs fell into her eyes, and she saw both Alys and Delia stepping into the room.

The two bowed, and Kaelin couldn't stop from rolling her eyes.

"Mistress, we came to ask about the young girl," Alys said quickly.

"Might we have her?" Delia asked. "When you're finished with her, of course."

"It's been some time since we've been allowed to have a victim -."

"Silence!" Deidre bellowed. Delia and Alys huddled together with fright. "How dare you come demand something of that nature from me?"

"We're sorry, Mistress," Delia whimpered.

"No we're not," Alys said after a moment. "We do nothing but worry about the man and his company. We get no practice any more. Mistress, we're in deprivation!"

"Fine," Deidre said quickly. "Take the others and head out to Andelli. Do what you must for practice, and then return."

"Thank you, my queen," Delia said.

"We are most grateful," Alys added. The two quickly backed out of the room. Deidre shook her head for a few moments, and then looked at Kaelin.

The girl was watching her. "Practice?" She asked.

"I have to keep my troops prepared somehow," Deidre answered.

"Troops?" Kaelin inquired. "Do they … work together for this?"

"Occasional squabbles," Deidre replied. "But we don't allow for such." She suddenly looked at Kaelin; her eyes alight with sudden interest. "We are a family to each other. We work for the same cause, therefore there's no reason for disagreements. I take it you don't get much of that where you come from."

"No," Kaelin admitted. "Family doesn't really mean much."

"What a shame," Deidre said. "Even creatures such as myself can't survive without knowing we're needed. It's essential to the workings of all beings."

"What are you working for?" Kaelin asked.

Deidre stiffened. "Perhaps another time, child. In the meantime, I shall have one of my ladies set up a place for you amongst them. You will find this much more comfortable, no?"

"Really?" Kaelin asked, sounding surprised.

"I suppose I've been a horrible host. Just because you are our captive does not mean you must be treated as such," Deidre said. "In a few moments you shall be far more comfortable."

"Thanks," Kaelin said hesitantly.

"It is no problem," Deidre gave a knowing smile and then turned out of the room, closing the door behind her. Then she snapped her fingers, and a woman appeared in front of her.

"My Queen?" She asked.

"Take the girl inside and set her up amongst the others."

"But mistress, is she not of the enemy?"

Deidre waved her off. "Do as you are told. And inform the others that they are to be as familial with the girl as possible. We don't want any mishaps," She said.

The woman bowed. "Yes, My Queen." She vanished.

Deidre then leaned against the wall, looking thoughtful.

A figure stepped out of the shadows. "Thinking of anything interesting?" Dracula asked.

"Quite," Deidre said, stepping away. The two began to walk down the corridor. "The girl is at a loss with herself. It could be very useful to us."

"You plan to turn her?" Dracula asked, looking interested.

"If she is willing," Deidre replied. "She would make an excellent accomplice. Her knowledge alone could lead to so much. And I like her. I wouldn't feel as if I were tricking her at all. She's perfect amongst us."

"I'm glad you are well," Dracula said.

"You want something." Deidre stated.

"Since you mention it, I have been very thirsty. I need to fly out, find myself some food," Dracula said.

"Don't bother. The girls have been sent out to get prey. You may feast on whatever they bring back," Deidre replied.

"That will not be enough," Dracula snapped.

Deidre stopped, and looked at him. "I did not bring you back because I wanted to. I just needed someone to handle the situation. Our lord suggested you. You brought back the girl."

"Don't try and kid me. I know exactly what it is that you want. You think one of the children knows where the hunter is. They are oblivious to our world, they have no idea what the hunter is. Or of his significance."

"Maybe," Deidre relented. "But even if they don't know now, they will shortly. They have the answers I need to complete my plans."

"Van Helsing won't let you have another," Dracula warned.

Deidre scoffed. "It's funny how you act as if you are the only one who knew him. You forget I was there as well. Besides, you must not know as much about him as you think. You lost to him before. I don't doubt it will happen again. I, however, have yet to be defeated, so think before you speak."

"You're still mad at me, aren't you?" Dracula asked.

"I've had years to get over being mad at you," Deidre replied. "I know now that you are just as unreliable as before. And you are still under Adriana's spell."

"You speak of her as a witch," Dracula said.

"Wasn't she?" Deidre asked.

"So you are still mad," Dracula said, grinning.

"I'm mad?" Deidre asked. "How interesting. I seem to recall it was you who risked his own life because of a woman. One that didn't even want you. Think before you speak, Count." She chuckled. "You have no power here. You are nothing! Now you will do as I tell you. You will feed on those that the girls bring back, and you will stay here, unless I ask otherwise, understood."

Dracula simply watched her, waiting for her to say more. She straightened her back, and looked ahead. "We must take care of the fearful. Send Corin to the task."

Dracula said nothing for a moment, and then he reluctantly bowed. "Yes." Then he vanished.

Deidre stared at the blank spot for a moment, before stomping off down the hall.


	38. Chapter Thirty Seven

AN: In my original outline, this chapter was meant to be chapter forty, but then I realized it took just too long to figure out what was happening to Darey (to those of you who may have forgotten, she vanished the night Kaelin was taken, but no one saw her leave with Dracula or any of the Sreain. However Stefie and Francis are convinced that's where she is). So here's your new chap!

THIRTY SEVEN

Darey groaned as she sat up, rubbing her forehead groggily and feeling a large bump. After a moment she looked around to see she was in a strange room. Grimacing she sat up. _What happened_? Despite how much she tried, she couldn't exactly recall what was going on. She looked down to see herself dressed as if she were in 1800's. Frowning, she stood, brushing herself off. _Why would I be dressed like this_?

"Dreaming," She muttered out loud. "That is it, I'm dreaming." She chuckled at the strange epiphany, but then winced with slight pain. She felt at her head again, pulling away to make out a strange liquid on her fingers. "One gruesome dream. Where am I?" She finally took a step, noticing how dark the stone room was. Her fingers brushed against the wall in an attempt to find the light switch. Finally her fingers crossed an oil lamp attached to the wall. She turned the knob and watched as the room was suddenly illuminated. It was a bedroom, shockingly. A rather cold one at that. A simple bed and a dresser with a mirror off in the corner. Darey groaned, quickly turning up all the oil lamps in the room.

Then she approached the mirror, grimacing at the slight gash on her forehead. "Just great," She mumbled, tearing off a piece of her shirt and pressing it against her head in an attempt to stop the bleeding. First and foremost – personal safety. She'd figure out the rest later. She wandered out of the room, surprised to see all the lights on out there. Her first impression of the place was that it was some kind of manor or something. But it was entirely deserted. She stopped, finding a room covered in snow. Despite the strangeness of the situation, she took the cloth and allowed some of the snow to melt on it, before putting it to her head, feeling much better. Then she walked back into the corridor, wandering about.

The last thing she could remember was being in Amanda's room, her and Kaelin bickering over Ray Louchello – some stupid pothead from their school. Then the rest was rather hazy. She knew there was more, though. Otherwise _this_ would not be a problem. She stopped in what seemed to be a large library. Stepping inside she looked around.

The place hadn't been swept or cleaned in years. In several places one could find a clean book, but most of it was wasted. She stopped at the shelves and looked the books over thoughtfully, brushing the cobwebs away in awe of the titles.

"_What do you have there_?" _Justine looked up from the book she was reading._

"_Something about fairy tales," She explained. "It's really interesting."_

_Darey took the book in her hand. "Romanian fairy tales, huh? Sounds cool."_

"_It is." Justine replied defensively, pulling the book closer. Darey just laughed. "Hey, I'm not saying anything against your reading skills. I'm only surprised is all."_

"_Whatever," Justine replied, opening the book up again._

Darey frowned, rubbing her head with vague annoyance. "Did I really hit my head that hard?" She asked out loud, running over the memory that had suddenly returned to her. Why couldn't she remember anything? She put the book back, and turned a corner, crying out at first.

_Dommy watched as the swords clashed together with a fierce echo throughout the room. Wincing, he said, "Van Helsing was really pissed off last night." …_

"_Dommy, hand me the bucket over there," Amanda instructed. The boy did as was asked before sitting back down on the steps. Amanda brought Darey over to him and handed her the cloth from the bucket of water so that the girl could clean out the scrape._

"_Just my luck," Darey murmured, crying out a bit as the disgustingly dirty water touched her skin. She threw the rag across the room. "That's repulsive!" …_

"_And Carl's still missing," Amanda grumbled._

"_I'm a little worried about that. Why take Carl?" Darey asked._

"_Maybe he just … ran away," Dommy suggested._

"_Dommy," The two groaned with frustration…_

"_Are you saying you agree with Ian?" Darey asked, snapping her head to look back at her friend._

"_I'm saying there isn't any evidence. We all were pretty wound up last night. Someone says they see Dracula, to another person's eyes it will be Dracula. It could have just been a bat for all we know," The girl said._

"_You and the need for logical explanations," Dommy said. "What part of any of this is logical?"_

It was just another weird memory. Her frown deepened. She could remember being in a strange room with Dommy and Amanda, but nothing of what they rambled about made sense. The only thing that she could piece together was that Dommy and Amanda had referred to someone named Van Helsing. This thought made her laugh, remembering the stupid movie that they'd gone over to Amanda's house to get in the first place. She took a seat in a chair and closed her eyes. Maybe if she could get one more memory, she'd be able to bring it all back. Trying hard, she let her mind wander, focusing primarily on being in Amanda's room, and then on to what she could remember of the conversation in that strange room. Suddenly her mind gave a spasm and she was once again caught in a memory.

"_You know Van Helsing?" The man asked._

"_The movie?" Justine asked with confusion._

"_Uhh, something tells me he isn't talking about the movie," Darey put in._

"_Are you friend's of the great Van Helsing, or enemies?" The man demanded in a loud voice._

_Francis swallowed. "Maybe following you guys wasn't such a good idea," He said._

"_Wuss," Dommy muttered, looking at the older boy._

_Amanda stepped forward, dragging her little brother with her. "Wait a minute. Are you trying to tell me you think Van Helsing's real?" She asked._

_Stefie stepped forward, and whispered to Amanda, "Okay, weird portal, graveyard, people dressed in 1800's clothing carrying torches and pitchforks – menacingly, mind you – and you doubt we're in Van Helsing?"_

Darey gasped. "No," She said. "That sort of thing? It's just not possible! Stupid memory!" She buried her head in her hands, trying not to panic. So she was alone in this abandoned castle with no memory of how she got there. It could be much worst. She sighed, and then stood. It was obvious she wasn't about to remember anything soon, so she walked towards the books again, pulling the first one of the shelf.

She pulled the large book down, and settled at an old table top, brushing the dust away and pulling up a chair that wasn't broken. Then she opened the book to the first place and began to read.

AN: And there you go! Sorry it's taking so long. Okay, uhh … clips were taken from chapters four andtwenty-two, in an attempt to keep you people up to date. I'm trying, really! Please review, and thanks!


	39. Poll, please answer

Okay, here's the deal, guys. This is taking far too long to actually write out, and at this length, i'll probably never finish it. But i won't leave you guys hanging, so here's the thing: i could post the outline for each chapter and you could see how the story was supposed to end. or i could try and finish the story (tho there are far too many chaps. left to finish any time soon). It's up to you, so just let me know, ok? 


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